Glossary

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360 Video(also: 360-Degree Video, Spherical Video, Omnidirectional Video)

Video content recorded or rendered to capture a full spherical or panoramic field of view, allowing viewers to look in any direction by turning their head (in a VR headset) or by dragging the view (on a screen). Unlike traditional video where a director controls the frame, 360…

360-Degree Video(also: 360 Video, VR360, Spherical Video)

Video content recorded or rendered to cover the full 360-degree sphere around the viewer, allowing them to look in any direction during playback. When viewed in a virtual reality headset, 360-degree video provides an immersive experience where users can explore the environment…

Accessible VR Gaming(also: Accessible Virtual Reality Games, Inclusive VR Gaming)

The design and development of virtual reality games and experiences that can be independently played and enjoyed by people with disabilities, including those who are blind or have low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, or have motor impairments. Accessible VR gaming requires…

Accessible Virtual Environments(also: Accessible Virtual Worlds)

Virtual spaces and worlds designed to be navigable and usable by people with disabilities, including consideration of locomotion methods, barrier placement, spatial layout, and environmental features. In VR research, disabled users express nuanced views on virtual environment…

Auto-Aim(also: Lock-On Targeting, Target Assist, Aim Assist)

An accessibility feature in games and virtual environments that helps users locate and track targets without requiring precise manual aiming. Auto-aim typically scans the environment for objects of interest and automatically adjusts the user's view or cursor to face or track the…

Avatar(also: Virtual Avatar)

A digital representation of a human user in a virtual environment that facilitates interaction with other users, entities, and the environment. Avatars range from simple floating hands to full-body representations and serve as the user's visual identity in VR. In accessibility…

Avatar(also: Virtual Self, Digital Representation, Self-Avatar)

A graphical representation of a user within a virtual environment or digital platform. Avatars can range from simple icons to fully customizable 3D virtual humans that mirror user movements. In accessibility research, avatar customization has been shown to increase engagement…

Avatar Customization(also: Avatar Creation, Character Customization)

The ability for users to modify the appearance, characteristics, and features of their virtual avatar, including body shape, clothing, accessories, and disability-related features such as wheelchairs or prosthetics. Accessible avatar customization is critical for disabled VR…

Awe(also: Awe Experience)

Awe is an emotional response to perceived vastness — physical, conceptual, social, or spiritual — that requires a person to update their mental models to accommodate it. It blends wonder, reverence, and sometimes fear, and is associated with reduced self-focus, increased…

Bimanual Interaction(also: Two-Handed Interaction)

Interaction techniques in computing and VR that require the coordinated use of both hands simultaneously, such as holding two controllers, performing gestures with both hands, or operating dual joysticks. Bimanual interaction presents significant accessibility barriers for users…

Body Ownership Illusion(also: BOI)

A perceptual phenomenon in virtual reality where users perceive a virtual body or avatar as their own, experiencing it as an extension of their physical self. This illusion is fostered when the virtual representation performs the same actions as the user's actual body, such as…

Body-Centric Design

Design approaches in technology that center on the user's physical body as the primary means of interaction, such as VR systems that rely on body tracking, gestures, and physical movement. While body-centric design can create natural and intuitive interactions, it inherently…

Cane Simulation(also: Virtual Cane, White Cane Simulation)

A virtual reality application that simulates the experience of using a white cane (long cane) for navigation, allowing blind users to explore virtual environments through haptic feedback. In a cane simulation, the user's finger or hand position is mapped to a virtual cane that…

Co-Embodiment(also: Shared Embodiment, Collaborative Embodiment)

A design concept where multiple users jointly control or inhabit a single virtual body or avatar, each contributing different aspects of the character's movements or actions. In CoSignPlay, co-embodiment allows one player to control non-manual signs (facial expressions, head…

Collaborative virtual environment(also: CVE, Shared virtual space)

A computer-based distributed virtual space where multiple users can interact with one another and with virtual objects in real time from separate physical locations. For children with autism, CVEs offer controlled social practice environments that reduce the sensory overload of…

Collision Detection(also: Contact Detection, Intersection Testing)

In virtual reality and haptic systems, collision detection is the computational process of determining when virtual objects come into contact with each other or with a user's virtual representation (such as a virtual hand or cane). When a collision is detected, the system can…

Cultural Heritage(also: Heritage, Digital Heritage)

Cultural heritage is the inherited tangible and intangible expressions of a community’s history, including buildings, monuments, artefacts, landscapes, oral traditions, performance, ritual, and language. In digital contexts, cultural heritage work covers the documentation,…

Cybersickness(also: VR Sickness, Simulator Sickness, Virtual Reality Motion Sickness)

A form of motion sickness experienced during virtual reality use, characterized by symptoms including nausea, disorientation, dizziness, eye strain, and general discomfort. Cybersickness occurs due to sensory conflicts between what the visual system perceives (movement in the…

Degrees of Freedom(also: DoF, 3DoF, 6DoF)

In virtual and extended reality, degrees of freedom refers to the number of independent movement axes available to a user within a virtual environment. Three degrees of freedom (3DoF) allows rotational head tracking only — looking up/down, left/right, and tilting — which is…

Diegetic Sound(also: In-World Sound, Source Sound)

Sound that originates from a source within the narrative world of a game, film, or virtual reality environment — meaning the characters or inhabitants of that world could theoretically hear it. Examples include a phone ringing, a dog barking, footsteps, a crackling fire, or a…

Diegetic Sound(also: In-Game Sound, In-World Sound)

Sound that originates from within the world of a game, film, or virtual environment—sounds that characters within that world could theoretically hear. In gaming and VR, diegetic sounds include environmental audio (footsteps, ambient noise, machinery), character dialogue, and…

Digital Layer Accessibility

The dimension of VR accessibility concerned with user representation through avatars and the design of virtual worlds and environments. On the avatar side, this includes whether users can create avatars that represent their disabilities, assistive devices, and physical…

Disability Representation in VR

The portrayal and inclusion of disabilities in virtual reality environments, encompassing avatar design, assistive device depiction, and environmental features that acknowledge disability. Research shows this is a deeply personal and context-dependent issue: disabled users often…

Disability Signifier(also: DS, Disability Marker)

A visual or auditory feature incorporated into a digital avatar or virtual representation that indicates a disability, such as a virtual wheelchair, walking cane, prosthetic limb, or hearing aid. Disability signifiers allow people with disabilities to express their disability…

Embodied Cognition(also: Embodiment)

A theory in cognitive science proposing that the mind is not an isolated entity but is deeply integrated with the body's sensorimotor systems. In other words, how we think, perceive, and make decisions is shaped by our physical bodies and their interactions with the environment.…

Embodied Exploration

An approach to virtual environment interaction in which the user builds understanding of a space by physically walking, turning, reaching, and sweeping rather than by teleporting or using controller-based locomotion. Embodied exploration is particularly important for blind and…

Embodied Harassment

Harassment in virtual reality environments that targets a user's avatar body or physical representation, such as invading personal space, mimicking movements, or physically interacting with avatar features without consent. In the context of disability, embodied harassment…

Embodiment(also: Virtual Embodiment)

The sense of inhabiting and controlling a virtual body in VR, feeling that the avatar is an extension of oneself rather than a separate entity. Embodiment is fostered through synchronized tracking of physical movements to avatar movements, visual congruence between the user's…

Escapism

The use of entertainment, fantasy, or immersive experiences to temporarily disconnect from real-world concerns, limitations, or stressors. In VR accessibility research, escapism is a significant motivator for disabled users, who may value VR as an opportunity to experience…

Experiential Layer Accessibility

The dimension of VR accessibility concerned with the quality, comfort, and safety of the VR experience for disabled users. This includes physical comfort (avoiding pain, exhaustion, and motion sickness), safety (preventing real-world collisions, addressing harassment in…

False Activation(also: Accidental Activation, Unintended Gesture)

An interaction error in gesture-based systems where the system incorrectly interprets a user's resting hand position or unintentional movement as a deliberate input command. In virtual reality, false activations are particularly problematic for users with motor impairments whose…

Free-Roam Locomotion(also: Room-Scale VR, Physical Locomotion)

A VR locomotion method where the user's real-world physical movement is directly mapped to movement in the virtual environment—walking forward in the real room moves the user forward in VR. While free-roam provides the most natural and immersive movement experience, it presents…

Freehand Gesture Interaction(also: Hand Tracking Interaction, Controller-Free Interaction)

An input method for virtual and mixed reality systems that uses camera-based hand tracking to detect and interpret natural hand movements without requiring physical controllers. Freehand gestures such as pinching, grasping, pointing, and swiping are increasingly the default…

Gait Disturbance(also: Gait Abnormality, Gait Impairment, Gait Deviation)

Any deviation from a person's normal walking pattern, including decreased walking velocity, reduced step and stride length, increased step time, asymmetrical gait, and instability. Gait disturbances can result from neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's…

Gesture Interaction(also: Gesture-based interaction, Gestural interfaces)

An input modality in which users control digital systems through hand, arm, or body movements detected by cameras, depth sensors, IMUs, or wearable devices rather than through traditional keyboards, pointing devices, or touchscreens. Gesture interaction underpins many augmented…

Gesture Recognition Threshold(also: Activation Threshold, Gesture Detection Threshold)

The predefined parameters that a gesture recognition system uses to determine whether a user's hand movement constitutes a valid gesture input. These thresholds specify requirements such as the exact finger positions, distances between fingertips, hand openness levels, and…

Gorilla Arm(also: Gorilla-arm effect, Gorilla arm syndrome)

A well-documented ergonomic phenomenon in which sustained unsupported arm elevation — typical of mid-air touchscreen, vertical display, or extended reality (XR) gesture interaction — produces rapid shoulder fatigue, pain, and performance decline. The term captures the ache and…

Gorilla Arm Syndrome(also: Gorilla Arm, Gorilla Arm Effect)

Fatigue, pain, and discomfort in the arms and shoulders caused by prolonged use of interfaces that require sustained arm elevation without support. The term originates from early touchscreen computing and has become particularly relevant in virtual and mixed reality, where users…

Grasp Recognition

Technology that detects and interprets how a user holds, grips, or manipulates objects, typically through sensors in VR controllers or camera-based hand tracking. In VR accessibility, grasp recognition is relevant because it can enable more natural object manipulation in virtual…

Haptic Virtual Reality(also: Haptic VR, Feelable Virtual Environment)

Haptic virtual reality refers to virtual environments that incorporate touch-based feedback, allowing users to feel virtual textures, shapes, and objects through force-feedback devices. Unlike visual-only VR, haptic VR provides tactile and kinaesthetic information — resistance,…

Heads-Up Display(also: HUD)

A transparent or overlay display that presents information in the user's direct line of sight without requiring them to look away from their current viewpoint. Originally developed for aviation, HUDs are widely used in virtual and augmented reality to attach interface elements —…

Heisenberg Effect(also: Heisenberg Problem)

In human-computer interaction, a spatial interaction problem where the act of making a selection disrupts the positional accuracy of the cursor or pointer. In virtual reality freehand gesture contexts, the Heisenberg effect occurs when the physical movement required to confirm a…

Immersion

The objective level of sensory fidelity that a VR system provides, including visual quality, spatial audio, and haptic feedback that work together to create a convincing virtual environment. Unlike presence (which is subjective), immersion refers to the technical capability of…

Immersive Media(also: 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, augmented reality, and mixed reality experiences. Making immersive media…

Immersive Storytelling(also: Interactive Narrative, VR Storytelling)

A narrative approach that places users inside a story environment, allowing them to experience and interact with the narrative through spatial presence, sensory engagement, and active participation. In therapeutic and accessibility contexts, immersive storytelling can scaffold…

Inclusive Immersion

A design objective for VR that seeks to create maximally accessible and enjoyable virtual and augmented reality experiences for users with different capability levels. The concept recognizes that immersion and enjoyment should be achievable regardless of disability, and that…

Inclusive avatar(also: 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 avatars enable disabled users to express their identity in virtual spaces and…

Interaction Paradigm(also: Interaction Method, Input Paradigm)

A model or approach for how users interact with a system, encompassing the input devices, techniques, and patterns of engagement. In VR, common interaction paradigms include controller-based input, hand tracking, gaze-based interaction, and voice commands. Each paradigm has…

Joystick Locomotion(also: Continuous Locomotion, Thumbstick Locomotion)

A VR locomotion method where users tilt a joystick or thumbstick on a controller to move continuously through the virtual environment while remaining physically stationary. This method is accessible for users who cannot physically walk but have sufficient hand motor control to…

Level of Detail(also: LOD)

A technique in computer graphics and information design where the amount of detail presented varies based on context, typically distance or user interaction. In 3-D environments, objects farther from the viewer are rendered with less geometric detail to improve performance. In…