CS+DES Professor and EVL faculty member Daria Tsoupikova presented the “Hummingbird” VR Theater project at the IMMERSE 2026 Symposium. Held April 28–29, 2026, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the symposium brought together leaders from academia and industry to explore immersive technologies, applications, and human-centered experiences, while fostering collaboration in research, education, and infrastructure for the future of immersive computing.

“Hummingbird”” is a collaborative project between the EVL and the Goodman Theatre. The multiuser theatrical experience blends real and virtual worlds to create deeper audience engagement and introduce immersive storytelling to a new generation of theatergoers.

At IMMERSE 2026, symposium participants experienced a scaled-down demonstration designed for a single user, allowing attendees to interact with and explore the immersive “Hummingbird” environments firsthand.