Early into the COVID-19 pandemic human activities were severely restricted for several months. Because physical face-to-face interactions were limited, virtual online interactions became the norm in a remarkably short period of time. Since then, people worldwide have embraced a society in which meetings can occur anytime without geographical constraints through online video calls, and in environments that support natural human activities, such as virtual reality spaces (including the metaverse).

This expansion of geographically unconstrained online social interactions has created opportunities for social participation among those who cannot leave their homes owing to illness or disability¹. Thanks to improved virtual communication systems, people can now work with fewer limitations imposed by location, time and language. Video conferences enable participation with desired avatars, and collaborative meetings in virtual reality spaces are emerging. Human society has an unprecedented opportunity to facilitate participation from previously marginalized groups, such as disabled individuals providing services in cafes through robots^2,3.

在 COVID-19 大流行初期，人类活动在几个月内受到严格限制。由于物理面对面互动受到限制，虚拟在线互动在极短的时间内成为常态。从那时起，全世界的人们都接受了这样一个社会：通过在线视频通话，在支持人类自然活动的环境中，如虚拟现实空间（包括元宇宙），可以不受地域限制地随时举行会议。

这种不受地理限制的在线社交互动的扩展为那些因疾病或残疾而无法离开家的人创造了社交参与的机会¹。由于改进了虚拟通信系统，人们现在可以在工作时受到地点、时间和语言的限制更少。视频会议支持使用所需的头像参与，虚拟现实空间中的协作会议正在兴起。人类社会拥有前所未有的机会来促进以前被边缘化的群体的参与，例如通过机器人在咖啡馆提供服务的残疾人^2,3。