XR Glossary
- 360-Degree Video
- Immersive videos or spherical videos where there is a view in every direction recorded at the same time using an omnidirectional camera.
- 3D Animation
- Creating a sequence of poses with a 3D object that creates the illusion of life-like movement
- 3D Model (Asset)
- A 3D model is a digital representation of an object that has length, width, and depth.
- 5G
- The 5th generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks offering greater bandwidth and higher download speeds.
- Analytics
- Information metrics resulting from the analysis of events occuring in artificial reality
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Intelligence demonstrated by computers to adapt to human cognitive functions like problem solving and learning
- Augmented Reality (AR)
- Placing a digital image or a hologram in the user’s view of the real world through a digital devices, for example a smartphone device, tablet, or mixed reality headset like the Microsoft HoloLens.
- Avatar
- An avatar represents the user in a virtual environment.
- CAD
- Computer-Aided Design: the use of specialized digital tools to aid in the creation, modification or analysis of a design.
- Code and Programming Languages
- Code is a set of instructions written in a number of programming languages like Python, JavaScript, Java, and C# that are deplyed by a computer. The result of writing these instructions is a computer program, which can curate an immersive experience.
- Code Snippet
- Code snippets are a representation of a pre-programmed set of code. Ability to re-use Code snippets speeds up the development process.
- Data
- Reference to the analysis of digital facts
- Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
- How a user moves through virtual space in a headset. 3DoF allows moving the head to view in any direction. 6DoF allows up, down, left, right, forward, and backward movement, so the user can physically walk around and interact.
- Digital Twin
- A replica of a digital entity
- Doppler Effect
- An increase in the frequency of sound or light as its source approaches an observer or a decrease if it moves away.
- Edge Computing
- A distributed computing paradigm bringing computation and data storage closer to the location needed in order to decrease latency.
- Embodiment
- Realization of being immersed in the virtual space through representation
- Extended Reality (XR)
- All real and virtual environments and interactions generated by technology and wearables
- Eye Tracking
- Eye tracking is similar to head tracking, but the headset measures where the user’s eyes are directly looking.
- Field of View (FOV)
- Refers to the angle, measured in degrees, within a user’s visual field in a headset.
- Foveated Rendering
- Eye tracking integrated with a virtual reality headset to reduce the rendering workload by reducing the image quality in the peripheral vision (outside of the zone gazed by the fovea)
- Game-based learning
- Learning through games with re-packaged academic content to promote critical or strategic thinking and used to support students otherwise not engaged.
- Gamification
- A digitization to non-game applications to encourage a specific response. Using point scoring, paths of engagement and rules of play with a reward system to enhance personal achievement.
- Gaze
- Direct point of eyesight measured using VR or MR headsets
- Geolocation
- Identification of the geographic location of a user or device
- Gesture
- A non-verbal form of communication usually used with movement of hands, face or other parts of the body
- Guardian System
- Real-world boundaries to safely move inside an immersed virtual environment.
- Hand Tracking:
- Hand tracking allows the user to interact with 3D objects directly in an immersed world. Tracking of movements may be done directly from the HMD, haptic gloves or wearables
- Haptics and force feedback:
- Force feedback simulates real-world touch and force, enhancing the realism of interactions. This is most commonly achieved through wearable gloves or controllers.
- Head Mounted Display (HMD)
- A hardware unit — i.e., a VR headset — that provides the vehicle to visualize and immerse in virtual software content
- Head Tracking
- Tracks the position of the user’s head in an HMD in order to orient the virtual environment to the user’s point of view.
- Heat Maps
- A data visualization tool that shows areas that are most interesting from the users point of view
- Hotspot
- An interactive location to release more content or options in an immersive space
- Immersion
- Immersion is a psychological state of being in a virtual environment
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- A system of related computing devices, software, objects, animals or people with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data through a network without requiring human to human or human to computer interaction.
- Interpupillary Distance
- The distance between the pupils of both eyes.
- Latency
- The delay between a user’s action and the technology’s reaction. Low latency is critical to a comfortable VR/AR experience.
- Low-Code / No-Code Development
- Allows you to develop interactive experiences with a visual, often drag-and-drop-based, approach. Code Snippets support this movement making it easier and faster to develop experiences
- Mesh
- A collection of polygons in 3D space forming a shape.
- Metaverse
- Refers to the world you are in, when you are in virtual and augmented reality
- Mixed Reality (MR)
- Where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time.
- Navigation
- Directing yourself in a virtual environment
- Non-Player Character (NPC)
- A character players do not have control over and their actions are often based on predetermined, algorithmic, or responsive behavior.
- Occlusion
- Hiding an object from view by the positioning of other object's in the User's light of sight. ie. Shadows caused by a light
- Performant
- The ability of an immersive experience to run at a high enough frame rate to not cause judder. There are many techniques used to optimize content to make it performant including reduction of the polygons in a 3D asset.
- Photogrammetry
- A process of taking several photographs of a person, object or place and stitching them together to create a digital twin
- Pixel
- In a digital image, it is the smallest physical point & element of a picture represented in a screen
- Polygons
- A plane figure defined by a number of straight lines to forma closed polyginal circuit. The 3D objects they form are rendered into a wireframe.
- Portal
- A location in a virtual space where the user can pass through into a new threeworld-dimensional world
- Positional Tracking
- Allows the user to physically walk around in a virtual space limited by room size and sometimes cable length (if the headset is connected to a computer). Not all headsets allow positional tracking.
- Presence
- When users naturally perceive the virtual system and fully believe that they are part of and in a non-physical environment.
- QR (Quick Response) Codes
- A matrix barcode that contains digital information about an item, object, person, place or location. Activated by a smartphone camera, the code pulls up the linked information.
- Refresh Rate
- The speed, measured in frames per second (FPS) or hertz (Hz), at which images are displayed in a virtual environment. The accepted minimum refresh rate for a comfortable VR experience is 90 FPS.
- Rendering
- Through a computer algorithm, the generation of 2D and 3D images are processed to increase efficiency and performance at the highest standard possible.
- Shading
- Shading is the illusion of depth perception, which is achieved through the variation of color and texture of an object.
- SLAM
- Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) enables 6DoF by positioning the user relative to your environment. Where 3DoF allows you to only Pitch, Yaw and Roll your head, SLAM adds Up/Down Left/Right and Back/Forth.
- Spatial Audio
- 3D Audio effects are built into the surround-sound environment of the experience
- Spatial Computing
- Human interaction with a computer in which the machine retains and manipulates responses to real objects and spaces.
- Teleportation
- The user is able to use their controller to transfer from one point to another without traveling the physical space between locations.
- Virtual Reality (VR)
- A simulation of a 3D environment viewed through a Head Mounted Display or HMD. With controllers, the user is able to interact with the virtual content.
- Volumetric Video Capture
- A video technique capturing 3 dimensional space that may be viewed on 2D screens or in an HMD
- Voxel
- A cubic volume pixel for quantizing three-dimensional space.
- WebXR
- Interacting with immersive content doirectly through the web browser without an app.
- Wireframe
- A blueprint of the immersive experience that includes rendered 3D objects to visualize how the prototype will work.
