Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
41 results found in Virtual Reality.
- Immersive Media (Immersive Content, Immersive Technology)
- Digital content and technologies designed to create a sense of presence and embodiment by surrounding users with stimuli that engage multiple senses. This includes 360-degree video, virtual reality, a…
- Inclusive avatar (Disability-representative avatar)
- A digital self-representation in virtual environments that includes disability signifiers such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing aids, canes, or visual metaphors for invisible conditions. Inclusive…
- Mobile Virtual Reality (Mobile VR, Smartphone VR)
- Virtual reality systems delivered through a smartphone and consumer-grade accessories (wireless headphones, simple hand-held mounts) rather than a dedicated head-mounted display and PC rig. For access…
- Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory (Networked Minds Measure of Social Presence, NMSPI)
- The Networked Minds Social Presence Inventory is a self-report questionnaire developed by Biocca, Harms and colleagues to measure social presence - the sense of 'being together' with another person - …
- Olfactory Display (Olfactory Interface, Olfactory Feedback, Smell Display, Scent Display)
- An olfactory display is a hardware system that delivers controlled scent stimuli to a user, typically as part of a virtual reality, augmented reality, or multisensory interaction system. Designs range…
- Optic Flow (Visual Flow, Optical Flow)
- The pattern of apparent motion of objects, surfaces, and edges in a visual scene caused by relative movement between the observer and the scene. Optic flow provides critical information about self-mot…
- Proteus Effect
- The Proteus Effect is a phenomenon, first described by Yee and Bailenson (2007), in which the appearance of a person's avatar influences how they think, behave and interact in virtual or augmented env…
- Self-Representation (Digital Self-Representation, Avatar Self-Representation)
- The way individuals choose to present themselves in digital or virtual environments, particularly through customizable avatars. For people with disabilities, self-representation involves decisions abo…
- Shared Movement (Linked Locomotion, Guided Movement)
- A virtual reality interaction technique that allows one user to move through a virtual environment by attaching to or following another user's avatar, inspired by the physical sighted guide technique …
- Sighted Guide (Sighted Guide Technique, Human Guide)
- A technique in which a sighted person assists a blind or low vision individual with navigation and orientation by serving as a visual reference and mobility aid. In physical settings, the blind person…
- Snap Turn (Snap Rotation, Comfort Turn)
- A virtual reality locomotion technique that rotates the user's viewpoint in discrete angular increments rather than continuous smooth rotation. Typically triggered by a thumbstick or controller input,…
- Social Virtual Reality (Social VR, SVR)
- Virtual reality platforms designed primarily for social interaction, where users meet, communicate, and engage in shared activities through avatars in three-dimensional virtual spaces. Examples includ…
- Spatial Computing (Spatial interaction)
- A paradigm of computing in which digital content is rendered and interacted with in three-dimensional physical space, typically via head-worn augmented or mixed reality devices (e.g., HoloLens, Magic …
- VR Accessibility Training (Virtual Reality Training for Accessibility, VR-Based AT Training)
- The use of virtual reality environments to teach people with disabilities how to use assistive technologies or navigate unfamiliar real-world scenarios in a safe, controlled setting. VR training allow…
- VRChat
- VRChat is a mainstream, user-generated social virtual reality platform where people gather as avatars in user-created 'worlds' that range from quiet scenic environments to busy public social hubs. Use…
- VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
- A file format and markup language for describing interactive 3D objects and environments on the web, first standardized in 1995. VRML allowed users to view, rotate, and navigate 3D scenes in web brows…
- Virtual Acoustic Environment (Audio Virtual Environment, Acoustic Virtual Environment)
- A computer-generated environment that uses audio as the primary medium for representing spaces, objects, and interactions, enabling users to navigate and interact with a virtual world through sound. V…
- Virtual Reality (VR, Immersive Virtual Environment)
- A computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment that users can interact with using specialized hardware such as headsets, motion controllers, or body tracking sensors. In accessibil…
- Virtual Texture (Simulated Texture, Haptic Texture)
- A virtual texture is a computer-generated tactile surface property rendered through a haptic device, simulating the feel of roughness, smoothness, or other surface characteristics without a physical m…
- Virtual World Accessibility (Metaverse Accessibility, VR Accessibility for Blind Users)
- Virtual world accessibility refers to the design and implementation of techniques that enable people with disabilities, particularly blind and visually impaired users, to participate in 3D virtual env…