On July 8, the XReco consortium gathered one final time in Basel to present the results of its cutting-edge 3D content creation platform (MVP) and share insights from recent user testing. While there’s still work to be done, the results speak for themselves—clear interest, strong validation, and a shared belief in its market potential. Inspired by this dynamic, all 20 partners investigated how the platform could be further developed for the market beyond the official end of the project in October 2025. This are the results of the three-day meeting.
XReco simplifys 3D Scene Production for Professionals in Media and Cultural Heritage
What the XReco team has achieved in just three years would impress any deep tech investor. Experts from different disciplines have come together to develop the XReco platform, which is now finalised as a working MVP and uses innovative technologies such as Gaussian splatting and AI-powered Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs).
The platform is designed to remove technical barriers and to empower professionals in media production and cultural heritage to create immersive 3D experiences—without writing a single line of code.
But does it actually work?
That’s exactly what users had the chance to find out during recent testing phases. Their feedback, gathered through in-depth interview sessions, revealed not only a strong interest in the platform’s creative potential—but also in its economic model. In 14 work sessions the XReco teams shared their results.
Figure 1: XReco_GA Meeting in Basel – day 1 – demo video session
Day 1 – Mission Review & Tech Showcases: Where Innovation Meets Practicality
The first day began with a mission alignment led by Project Director Nico Patz (Deutsche Welle, Germany), setting the tone for a clear-eyed review of our progress—and what will be next.
Then came the show high lights: A one hour video session, where the tech teams presented demo videos of their latest developments across key areas:
- Volumetric capture & holographic teleportation
- Real-time Gaussian Splatting
- Advances in NeRF-based rendering and face mesh modeling
These demos showcased how far XReco has come since the project launch in 2022—and revealed just how close we are to market-ready authoring tools for 3D scene creation.
The afternoon turned to the XReco Marketplace: The metadata search tool, and token licensing system, guided by Werner Bailer (Joanneum Research, Austria). Additional sessions focused on the considerations, Unity-based 3D authoring (Capgemini, Germany) and XR content management system by Zaubar (Germany).
Figure 2: XReco – GA Meeting Basel day 1- demo of the XReco Marketplace by Werner Bailer
Day 2 – User Validation & Business Models: What the Market Really Wants
The second day was dedicated to those who matter most: the user testing.
Marieta Caballero (UPM, Madrid) presented results from MVP usability tests across four user personas: Searchers, Givers, Creators, and Takers.
The results:
✅ High engagement
✅ Clear market demand
✅ Willingness to pay—under the right conditions
A deep dive is coming soon in a separate blog post by the UPM team. Stay tuned!
Sound (NL) followed with insights from three Joint Business Clinics, where users, who tested the tools, provided feedback on topics like monetization, licensing preferences, and the potential of the XReco marketplace.
In the afternoon, the sessions were focused on defining the final product features needed to ensure real-world adoption—and preparing the showcase at IBC in September in Amsterdam, where XReco will take the stage with an updated demo.
The day ended with a second feedback loop and a relaxed Rhine swimming and dinner, filled with big ideas and practical next steps.
Figure 3: XReco – GA Meeting Basel day 2 – discussions during the dinner
Day 3 – Final Review & Go-to-Market Strategy: Eyes on the Horizon
The last day was all about the communication und sustainability of the XReco project.
Patrick de Lang (Sound, NL) outlined what’s needed to keep XReco alive beyond the EU funding phase—from business model maturity to concrete KPIs for impact.
Next, Elle Langer (XRBB, Germany) led a communications session, about the results of the last 10 month and of the dissemination and communication of the whole project since September 2022. After she presented the strategy mapping out how XReco’s story will be told across blog posts, videos, and social media leading into the IBC spotlight. The message is clear:
It’s not just a new tool for 3D scene production, it’s also a European solution for new value creation in the media and cultural heritage industry.
As the day ended, one theme stood out: XReco is ready to go beyond the lab and into the real world.
Figure 4: XReco – GA Meeting Basel at the Univsersity Basel (UNIBAS)
Conclusion
A central highlight: the XReco Marketplace, a fair and forward-thinking solution for monetizing digital assets. Powered by a token-based licensing ecosystem, the marketplace is fully integrated into the platform, enabling creators to license, share, and sell their 3D scenes with transparency and ease.
The future of 3D content creation is no longer reserved for coders—it’s opening up to the entire media industry and for culture heritage. And XReco could be a solution for democratize the 3D and XR production processes.
Figure 6: XReco – Consortium Meeting in Basel July 2025
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