Terminologies

Human interactions are experienced through a spectrum of sensory modalities.Digital interfaces are primarily designed for the visual and auditory sensory domains – wherein the dominant sense is visual. Experiences that support diverse sensory perceptual abilities improves the interactions people have with technology and the world.

Individuals interact with their physical environment through a range of physical abilities including movement available at joints, muscle strength, body tone and mobility. Design considerations that allow for a range of physical abilities through mechanical interactives and mobility considerations provide opportunities for optimal engagement.

Cognitive processes help visitors process the information from their sensory channels and associate meaning to their experience through memory. Individuals with cognitive challenges may have difficulties processing information from their environments. Inclusive cognitive design considerations not only help accessibility needs but also provide elements to prevent cognitive fatigue and overstimulation for all visitors, thereby improving the visitor experience.

Sensations that give us information about what is coming from outside the body. These senses tell us, what’s at a distance, through vision and hearing; what’s on the body through touch; and what’s entering the body through smell and taste

Sensations that give us information about how and where the body is moving, through the senses that respond to movement gravity and body position (the vestibular and proprioceptive senses)

Sensations that give us information about what is going on inside the body through senses within our internal organs

VR is an immersive digital experience that provides realistic visual, sound, and tactile representation to the user while tracking position and orientation. VR can be experienced in HMD (head mounted display) and projector cave system.

AR is an interactive experience where computer generated perceptual objects reside in the real world environment for providing an interactive experience to the user.

Interactive AI refers to the ability of computers to be able to do things that normally require humans such as speech recognition, visual perception, decision-making, and language translation. Examples of interactive AI include chatbots/ digital assistants and robots (Roomba vacuum robots)

Game design creates goals, rules and challenges to define a game or simulation that produces desirable interactions among its participants and, possibly, spectators. Gamification can be applied to AR, VR, and AI.