Virtual Reality Analytics Terminology
Below is a curated list of terms relating to analytics within virtual reality.
- analytics
the information resulting from the systematic analysis of both events occurring within the artificial reality and of the device being used to create the artificial reality.
Virtual reality analytic metrics are therefore often divided into two groups:
- collision detection
detection that virtual objects have intersected, sometimes triggering haptic or visual feedback for the experiencer
- eye tracking
the ability for a head mounted display (HMD) to read the position of the experiencer’s eyes versus their head
Eye tracking is particularly useful for informing VR analytics, where the developer wants to better understand what content the experiencer is focused on in a specific scene or view.
- gaze
the direction the experiencer is looking in
- head tracking
the ability for an head mounted display (HMD) to monitor the position and orientation of the experiencer’s head through tracking
- heatmap
a graphical representation of data relating to the experiencer’s gaze during a virtual reality (VR) experience
Gaze heatmaps are one type of analytics. They utilise a hot (red) to cold (blue/green) system of colour-coding to represent areas of interest within the experience.
- player modelling
refers to the process of learning a model of the experiencer’s individual differences (e.g. preferences, play style, etc.)