Ezequiel Zorzal · Intelligent Immersive Systems (I2S)

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About

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I have spent years researching how interactive technologies improve education, teaching and training. My work explores Extended Reality (XR): Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality, combined with Artificial Intelligence to build solutions that enhance user experience and support teachers, students and professionals in real learning contexts.

More recently I have been organising this work into a research line on Intelligent Immersive Systems (I2S), under the idea of human-centred computing in an augmented world. It has three scientific axes: immersive health and medical simulation; spatial computing and adaptive interfaces for industry; and AI in interactive educational environments. The working method is the same across all three: build prototypes, test them with users, and move the results into real use.

I co-lead the Interactive Applications Laboratory (Interapps) at Unifesp, a multidisciplinary group applying interactive technologies to health, industry and education. Inside Interapps, and with partners such as INESC-ID / IST / ULisboa, my own research is organised as the I2S line described below. I hold a PhD in Electrical Engineering (UFU), with postdoctoral research in Interactive Technologies at IST / University of Lisbon, and I am a CNPq Research Productivity Fellow.

I am also a speaker and author. My book Inteligência Artificial na Educação (Alta Books, 2025) is a practical guide for teachers who want to use AI intentionally and responsibly. It is the reference base for the AI-in-education axis of I2S.

focusIntelligent Immersive Systems (I2S)

positionAssoc. Professor, ICT/Unifesp

collabINESC-ID / IST / ULisboa

labInterapps @ Unifesp

phdElectrical Eng., UFU (2009)

postdocIST/ULisboa (2019–20, 2026)

software6 records · INPI

citations

bookIA na Educação (2025)

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Intelligent Immersive Systems

I2S uses Extended Reality, Human-Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence to build interactive systems that respond to context and hold up in tests with real users. It is how I file the work I have already done and the work I want to do next, under three scientific axes.

The I2S line: XR, HCI and AI organised into three scientific axes, with one shared method.

drwxr--r-- i2s/immersive-health/

Immersive Health & Medical Simulation

Software for medical simulation with immersive interaction and performance tracking in real time. The goal is training and pre-operative support that can be measured, for situations where access to the operating room is limited, physical training material is costly and practising on patients carries ethical risk.

from my work Anatomy Studio (2019) · haptic dentistry simulator (2023) · AR laparoscopy (2020) · VRDFoot v2.0 (ongoing)

drwxr--r-- i2s/adaptive-industry/

Spatial Computing & Adaptive Industrial Interfaces

Spatial computing and XR placed in the physical workplace. The interfaces adjust the instructions and the level of detail to how complex the task is and to who is doing it, showing the right information at the moment it is needed. The aim is less cognitive load, less rework and fewer errors.

from my work survey of industrial AR (2020) · AR for fuselage assembly (2020) · AR for corporate training (2021)

drwxr--r-- i2s/ai-education/

AI in Interactive Educational Environments

A technical and pedagogical look at intelligent systems inside learning platforms: conversational agents and generative tools that help personalise teaching. What matters here is whether they are actually useful in class, whether the interaction is clear to the student, and whether a teacher stays in control.

from my work book: IA na Educação (2025) · immersive tool for implant training (2021) · Adaptive Mobile AR with Gamification (FAPESP postdoc)

The same steps run through every axis: prototype, run studies with users, then release open artefacts, register software and transfer what is mature. Questions of HCI and responsible AI, such as privacy, biometric data, algorithmic bias and accessibility, apply to all three.

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Directions

Where I want to take this work over the next few years. The scientific axes are active lines of research. The teaching items are proposals that still need to be worked out.

// 01 · science

Scientific consolidation of I2S

Treat the three axes as one agenda. Take prototypes from the lab to systems that can be shown and validated. Publish in selective venues. Take on more master's and doctoral students, working from real problems brought by partners in health, industry and education.

// 02 · funding

Funding & internationalization

Apply to competitive European programmes such as Horizon Europe, and to national funding agencies as Principal Investigator. Keep the collaboration with the UNESCO Chair hosted at INESC-ID. Take part in program committees and reviewing, and organise workshops and special sessions.

// 03 · teaching · proposal

Curricular innovation

Two new course units: one on immersive prototyping, one on responsible use of AI in study, teaching and software development. Active methods such as flipped classroom, project-based learning and short modules. AI used to support the student's own reasoning, not to replace it. These are proposals and can be shaped together with a department.

// 04 · transfer

Valorization & open science

Register software (INPI), protect intellectual property and mature academic solutions toward licensing or a spin-off. Offer short micro-credentials for professionals in IT, health and education. Release open artefacts, datasets and teaching material. Run hackathons and living labs with partners.

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Selected publications

These papers are the basis for the I2S axes: immersive health, industrial XR and applied AI. Full list on Google Scholar · CV Lattes.

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Projects

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Book & online course

Inteligência Artificial na Educação EZEQUIEL ZORZAL · ALTA BOOKS

book · 2025

Inteligência Artificial na Educação

A practical, accessible guide for teachers who want to use AI intentionally and responsibly, with ready-to-use prompts, checklists, technical guidance and case studies. 220 pages, Alta Books. Reference base for the AI-in-education axis of I2S.

Get the book ↗

▶

online course · udemy

Curso Completo de Lógica e Programação

Fast and complete course on algorithms, logic and C programming, with 100+ solved examples based on real problems. In Portuguese.

Enroll on Udemy ↗

~/frameworks $ cat criar-validar.md

Frameworks

A framework here is just a short checklist that keeps a habit consistent. I use two, back to back, in the book and in teaching: C.R.I.A.R. structures the prompt before you send it, V.A.L.I.D.A.R. checks the answer before you trust it.

Both are acrostics in Portuguese, how I teach them; each letter is glossed in English below.

// try it · C.R.I.A.R. prompt assistant

Describe what you want an AI to do; it points out what's missing and replies with a ready-to-use C.R.I.A.R. prompt.

criar-assistant

Tell me what you want an AI to do. I'll point out what's missing and turn it into an effective C.R.I.A.R. prompt.

your request

0/500

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Team & students

// current

// alumni

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Teaching

What I teach now, and where it is heading. Some units already sit inside the I2S line; the rest is core computer-science teaching. Classes are in Portuguese.

PPG = graduate program (pós-graduação). BCC, BCT and EC are Unifesp undergraduate degrees.

// currently teaching

// also teach, depending on the semester

// proposed · in development

Two course proposals connected to the I2S axes. They are ideas, not courses currently offered.

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Resources for students

Links I hand to students: for academic writing and publishing, for building XR and AI prototypes, for evaluating them with users, and for using AI responsibly.

~/playground $ sudo ./have_fun --no-limits

Playground

invaders.exe

A tiny Space Invaders. Keyboard on desktop, touch buttons on mobile. Can you beat wave 3?

  ▀▄   ▄▀      ▄▄▄▄▄      ▀▄   ▄▀
 ▄█▀███▀█▄    █▀▀▀▀▀█    ▄█▀███▀█▄
█▀███████▀█   █ ▄▄▄ █   █▀███████▀█
▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀   ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄   ▀ ▀▄▄ ▄▄▀ ▀

score 0 wave 1 lives ♥♥♥

← → move · space fire · p pause

xr_hangar.gltf

The classic Millennium Falcon in WebXR. Drag to orbit; on a compatible headset or smartphone you can enter VR / AR.

        __
   ____/  \____
  /   loading   \
 |  ==========  |
  \____    ____/
       \__/

drag: move · pinch: scale · 2-finger ↕: height · double tap: bring here

drag: rotate · scroll/pinch: scale · shift+drag / 2 fingers: move · double click: reset
in VR/AR: trigger = grab & move · both triggers = scale · thumbstick = resize · hands: pinch near the ship · phone AR: tap to place

~/contact $ ping ezorzal

Get in touch

ezorzal [at] unifesp.br

Collaborations on Intelligent Immersive Systems (XR, HCI and applied AI in health, industry and education), plus talks, workshops, or student supervision. Happy to hear from you.
ICT-Unifesp · Av. Cesare M. G. Lattes, 1201, Room 117 · São José dos Campos – SP, Brazil

Say hello