By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Spatial computing refers to the tools that interact with and present three-dimensional data. The “immersive” approach displays a mapped out physical space (“VR,” or virtual reality) or embeds digital content into a mapped-out, real-world physical space (“AR,” or augmented reality).
Put this on
Many of the spatial-computing experiences happen on headsets, head-mounted displays, or smartphones; with new technologies from major vendors, wearers can control virtual interfaces with hand gestures and eye movements. Other technologies enabling environmental interaction include hardware like depth-sensing cameras. Components like sensors, mapping software, and machine vision to identify objects help to bridge the physical hardware and digital objects. Spatial computing applications include gaming, virtual showrooms, and collaborative design through “digital twins.”
Special spatial
Early developments in the spatial space include a head-mounted display, made in 1968, as well as a “Sketchpad,” demonstrated in 1963, which allowed users to draw designs on a computer screen via a light pen. More contemporary examples of spatial computing include the Sony PlayStation VR and Apple’s Vision Pro headset.
Getting real
Researcher Simon Greenwold, in 2003, defined spatial computing as “human interaction with a machine in which the machine retains and manipulates referents to real objects and spaces. It is an essential component for making our machines fuller partners in our work and play.”
Greenwold also saw the miniaturization of devices as a sign of more spatial experiences.
“As the outsides of the machines shrank and the ‘space’ of memory and storage inside exploded, it became possible to popularize the idea of moving ourselves wholesale out of messy old real space and into virtual space,” Greenwold wrote.
