For years, the XR EXPO in Stuttgart has positioned itself as an important international platform for the extended reality (XR) industry. In 2025, the event once again recorded a rush of visitors: interest in virtual technologies is growing.
With over 3,000 trade visitors from 57 countries, the event brought together XR experts and decision-makers from business, science, the public sector and the creative industry. Behind the event is the Virtual Dimension Center Fellbach (VDC), which sees itself as a competence center for virtual reality and collaborative engineering.
The XR EXPO 2025, which took place in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle and the Porsche Arena, focused on industrial and professional XR applications in various fields such as architecture, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, education and smart cities. In addition to an exhibition with market-ready solutions, the event offered a conference program with over 100 specialist presentations, eight panel discussions and nine interactive workshops - almost exclusively in English. Topics discussed included the integration of XR into industrial processes, human-centered design in healthcare, the role of generative AI in XR systems and strategic issues relating to platforms, standards and financing.
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scheible, Reutlingen University, spoke in a 'Rapid Prototyping' workshop about virtual worlds of experience with the help of AI tools and VR glasses. Christian Hergt, Bosch, presented the Industrial Metaverse in his lecture - and the technological secret sauce that the company recommends to its customers on this exciting journey. And the Fraunhofer Institutes IAO and IPA offered a 'metaverse potential analysis' as part of the supporting program to give companies and start-ups a low-threshold introduction to this technology.
Experience virtual reality
The expo itself offered a lot to see. Extended reality came to life on large screens and could be 'entered' using VR goggles and haptic controls. A playful approach was often chosen, which brought back memories of 'Pokémon Go'. However, the potential for industrial production, logistics processes and science was also evident. XR technologies have long since freed themselves from their science fiction touch. At many stands and in personal discussions, it became clear that virtual reality is already within reach - in the truest sense of the word. Our photo report visualizes the fascinating aspects that could be experienced in Stuttgart.
The strong regional commitment combined with international participation underlined the growing importance of XR technologies for innovation and value creation. Prof. Dr. Christoph Runde, Managing Director of the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC), highlighted XR as a central element of today's digital reality and praised the relevance of the event as a bridge between technology development, real-world application and the market.
The impressive growth of the event will probably also mean that the upcoming XR EXPO will take place at a new location with even better conditions for presentation - namely at the Stuttgart Exhibition Center. From April 28 to 29, 2026, visitors will be able to experience extended reality in the bright exhibition halls on the Filder - a technology that promises great potential for electronics production in particular.
https://xrexpo.tech/2025,/www.vdc-fellbach.de, https://cyberlaend.eu/
