XR Glossary #

A #

• Anchors: In AR, used to ‘anchor’ virtual objects to a point in the real world, ensuring they stay in place when viewed from different angles.
• AR (Augmented Reality): A technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, providing a composite view.

B #

• Binaural Audio: 3D sound technique to simulate the human ear’s natural hearing, making the XR experience more immersive.
• Binocular Overlap: The amount of visual field that is seen by both eyes, crucial for depth perception in VR.

C #

• Chaperone System: A safety feature mainly in VR, showing a visible boundary when a user is about to move beyond the play area.

E #

• Eye Tracking: The process of measuring where a user is looking, often used in VR to improve rendering performance and user interaction.

F #

• FOV (Field of View): The extent of the observable environment seen at any given moment. It refers to how wide an angle the virtual world is visible in VR.
• Foveated Rendering: Using eye tracking in VR to reduce the rendering workload by reducing image quality in the peripheral vision.

H #

• Haptic Feedback: Technology that uses touch sensations, like vibration or resistance, to provide feedback to users.
• Hand Presence: The feeling in VR that the virtual hands are genuinely yours, achieved through accurate hand-tracking and realistic hand avatars.
• Head Mounted Display (HMD): A device worn on the head with a display in front of one (monocular HMD) or each eye (binocular HMD).

I #

• IPD (Interpupillary Distance): The distance between the centers of the pupils of the two eyes. It’s important for VR headset calibration to ensure visual comfort.

L #

• Latency: The time delay between a user’s action and a system’s response in VR. Lower latency is crucial for preventing motion sickness.

M #

• MR (Mixed Reality): A technology that merges real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time.

O #

• Occlusion: In AR and VR, it refers to the effect of one object in 3D space blocking another object from view.

P #

• Passthrough: A feature on VR headsets using the device’s cameras to show the user a video feed of the outside world.
• Positional Tracking: Tracking the position of an object or person in space, often used in VR to track user’s head and hand movements.

R #

• Raycasting: A method in 3D graphics to determine which objects are visible and should be rendered.
• Room Scale: A feature of VR systems which allows users to walk around and interact in a predefined area, with their physical movements mapped into the virtual environment.

S #

• Spatial Computing: Refers to computer-generated simulations that overlay physical environments in AR, VR, and MR settings.

T #

• Tracking Area: The space in which a VR or AR device can track the user’s movements.
• 6DOF (Six Degrees of Freedom): The freedom of movement a body can move within three-dimensional space. It includes forward/backward, up/down, left/right, and rotational movements.

V #

• VR (Virtual Reality): A computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial three-dimensional environment using special electronic devices.
• Volumetric Capture: The process of capturing a real-world performance and translating it into 3D space for use in AR, VR, or other digital formats.

X #

• XR (Extended Reality): An umbrella term that includes all immersive technologies (like AR, VR, and MR). The ‘X’ represents a variable that can stand for any letter.