spatial computing — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A computing paradigm powered by three-dimensional desktop environments, such as an extended reality window manager, usually accessed through wearables such as headsets.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

   Related words

   spatial computerextended realitymetaverse

   Examples

   More examples (2)

   I define spatial computing as human interaction with a machine in which the machine retains and manipulates referents to real objects and spaces. Ideally, these real objects and spaces have prior significance to the user. For instance, a system that allows users to create virtual forms and install them into the actual space surrounding them is spatial computing. A system that allows users to place objects from their environments into a machine for digitization is spatial computing. Spatial computing differs from related fields such as 3D modeling and digital design in that it requires the forms and spaces it deals with to pre-exist and have real-world valence. It is not enough that the screen be used to represent a virtual space—it must be meaningfully related to an actual place.[…] It is an essential component for making our machines fuller partners in our work and play.

   Apple insists that its $3,500 Vision Pro ski goggles, which officially debuted Friday, is not virtual reality but “spatial computing.” One problem: No one agrees on the definition of spatial computing. Ask 10 people in technology and you might get 12 different answers. What Apple calls a spatial computer, some technologists call “mixed reality” — or possibly “augmented reality,” “holographic computing,” “the metaverse” or “XR,” which some people say is shorthand for “extended reality.” […] “Even I can’t get my head on straight of what things mean all of the time,” said Alex Coulombe, co-founder of Agile Lens, which calls itself an XR company. Coulombe started to tell me that spatial computing and XR are the same — but changed his mind midsentence. […] What is spatial computing, anyway? I’m going to define it as an immersive video feed of the physical world plus the internet. […] Some experts instead use spatial computing as a catchall term for a range of technologies, including 3D images, virtual reality and smartphone games such as “Pokémon Go.”