Contents:
Technology
Other Terms and Concepts
Technology
This is a general overview of technology around VR. For a more detailed and frequently updated list of the latest devices, refer to XinReality.
Head-Mounted Display (HMD) – As defined by XinReality: VR is currently created by head-mounted displays (HMDs) utilizing stereoscopic displays and specialized lenses along with motion tracking hardware to give the illusion that the user is physically inside the virtual world.
Motion Tracking – As defined by XinReality: HMD tracks the movement of your head and updates the rendered scene based on its orientation and location. This process is similar to how we look around in real life. Motion tracking is not only used to track your head in HMDs but also used to track your hands and rest of your body through various input devices.
Input Devices – As defined by XinReality: Input Devices allow the users to influence and manipulate the virtual realm they are in. These devices include traditional input methods such as gamepad, mouse and keyboard and novel devices that track the position and orientation of your hands, fingers, feet and other body parts.
Play Area – The virtual boundaries that are created from where the user is being tracked. Usually associated with HMDs that use with play boundaries such as HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
Other Terms and Concepts
Affordances – Clues that suggest interactions, typically presented by an object, space, or its context.
Immersion – As defined by Nikolai Bockholt: Refers to the act of completely immersing oneself in, or diving into, another (artificial) world.
Locomotion – describes the process of moving from one place to another, and in this context, it refers to the user’s ability to move around a 3D virtual environment.
More terms will be added to this list as more examples and contents are discussed on this site. In the meantime, feel free to comment below any terms or concepts you feel should be included or needs further explaining.