Unity industrial glossary
A
Unity ArtEngine
+(3D configurators and marketing content)
A material authoring tool. Harnessing the power of assisted creation, Unity ArtEngine helps creators accelerate production pipelines and achieve new levels of realism in product visualization and design.
augmented reality (AR)
+(AR)
The overlaying of digital content on top of the real world. Popular uses of AR include immersive storytelling in entertainment, marketing experiences to visualize products in context, and frontline worker guidance for task completion.
Augmented reality tools enable developers to create AR experiences for headsets and/or mobile devices. Unity is the leading platform for creating content for AR and virtual reality (VR) applications, powering 90% of head-worn AR experiences.
C
computer vision
+A field of artificial intelligence (AI) that enables an automated system to perceive its environment and derive meaningful information from it. For more information, see Unity Computer Vision.
Unity Computer Vision
+(Computer vision)
A platform that generates pre-labeled, diverse and privacy-compliant synthetic images to train production-ready AI models.
configurator
+(Digital twin)
A software solution that allows for variables to be applied in order to meet specific criteria or user preferences. For more information, see Unity Forma.
connected data
+(Digital twin)
Real-time or on-demand data sourced from network-connected physical devices, sensors, or the systems that manage Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
CPQ
+(Digital twin)
Configure, price, quote. CPQ solutions connect an interactive product configurator with a purchasing and parts management system, allowing users to configure and purchase a product specified to their requirements.
D
data visualization
+(Digital twin)
The graphical representation of information and data. Data visualization provides a clear understanding of an asset, building, or system by combining information with graphical models to allow for faster insights and decision-making.
digital twin
+A virtual representation of a physical site, asset, system, or process that mimics its real-world counterpart’s condition and behavior. Enriched with data, it informs decision-making in the development and operation of these physical entities.
E
extended reality (XR)
+(Digital twin)
A catchall term referring to all immersive environment technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).
F
Unity Forma
+(3D configurators and marketing content)
A solution suite designed to enable marketing professionals to use their existing 3D data to create interactive, real-time 3D product configurators. Includes Forma Render, a tool for digital photography, video production studio, and an image-on-demand rendering engine.
Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
+(Digital twin)
The convergence of emerging technology in an industrial context, including advanced digital production technologies, the industrial Internet of Things, human-machine interfaces, and artificial intelligence.
Furioos
+(Digital twin)
Unity’s cloud streaming platform that allows stakeholders to share and embed interactive, immersive experiences.
H
head-up display (HUD)
+(Automotive, manufacturing, and transportation)
A display of information (often operational data or instrument readings) that is easily visible to the user without inhibiting or affecting their natural movement. The delivery method is often visual data projected onto a visor, windscreen or something similar.
Unity for HMI
+(HMI design and development)
A workflow for the creation of human-machine interfaces (HMIs). By using lossless compression, Unity empowers the creation of stunning, interactive experiences for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems and digital cockpits. See what’s possible with our free Automotive HMI Template.
human-machine interface (HMI)
+(Automotive, manufacturing, and transportation)
An interactive connection – often based on visual displays – that enables intuitive, human-centric operation of complex machinery. For more information, see Unity for HMI.
I
immersive training
+(Digital twin)
The use of immersive technology, such as augmented and virtual reality, to train employees or other personnel for specific skills or tasks. Immersive training solutions can help minimize risk and improve safety, allow for training in multiple potential and simulated scenarios, and improve learning outcomes and retention.
Unity Industrial Collection
+(Industrial product and game design)
A software bundle that includes Unity Pro, Unity’s real-time 3D software development engine for professionals, and tools to visualize your 3D and computer-aided design (CAD) data in real-time 3D, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Dive deeper into what’s possible in this primer.
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
+(Digital twin)
A network of intelligent devices in an industrial setting that are connected by internet technology, resulting in systems that can monitor, collect, exchange, and analyze data as well as predict behavior. Insights from IIoT can help to drive smarter, faster decision-making.
Internet of Things (IoT)
+(Digital twin)
The network of physical computing devices (things) that are integrated with sensors, software, and other technology for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices and systems over the internet, often without requiring human-to-computer interaction.
M
Unity Machine Learning Agents (ML-Agents)
+(Simulation-driven development)
A deep learning technology for creating intelligent behavior. The Unity Machine Learning Agents Toolkit (ML-Agents) is an open-source project that enables games and simulations to serve as environments for training intelligent agents.
machine learning
+(Simulation-driven development)
A branch of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science that focuses on the use of data and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn, with the algorithms gradually improving their own accuracy. Machine learning (ML) methods include supervised ML, unsupervised ML and semi-supervised ML.
mixed reality (MR)
+(Digital twin)
The merging of real and virtual worlds to produce interactive environments and visualizations in real-time.
P
Pixyz
+(Industrial product design)
A product portfolio, acquired by Unity in 2021, that enables users to easily import and optimize large 3D computer-aided design (CAD), point cloud and mesh models for creating real-time experiences in Unity.
Unity Pro
+(Industrial product design)
A robust solution for software development professionals creating interactive, real-time 3D applications and publishing them to mobile phones, tablets, PCs, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) devices.
product configurator
+(Digital twin)
A digital representation of a product that allows the operator/end user to select configurable options (such as components, colors, accessories etc.). For more information, see Unity Forma.
R
ray tracing
+(Automotive, manufacturing, and transportation)
A rendering technique that realistically simulates how light behaves and interacts with physical objects and materials in your scenes. This technological advance enables true global illumination (GI) and ambient occlusion, as well as other effects, whether you want to achieve a photorealistic or stylized look.
real-time 3D
+A computer graphics technology that generates 3D images and interactive content instantly, so users can see adjustments to graphic elements such as lighting or texture on the fly. See how this technology is used in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) and manufacturing.
Unity Reflect
+(Architecture, engineering and construction)
A suite of products to create real-time 3D experiences, including augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), from building information modeling (BIM) data to enable more impactful decision-making.
Unity Reflect Develop
+(Architecture, engineering and construction)
A product that enables developers to build custom applications to address any design problem across the entire building and infrastructure lifecycle – such as digital twins, construction sequencing, or safety training, to name a few – for distribution commercially or to internal stakeholders.
Discover how to create custom applications with Unity Reflect Develop
Unity Reflect Review
+(Architecture, engineering and construction)
A product that enables users to easily bring Autodesk Revit, BIM 360, Navisworks, SketchUp, and Rhino models into augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to facilitate interactive design reviews between all project stakeholders.
Robotics simulation
+(Simulation-driven development)
A tool for optimizing robot automation. Unity’s open-source robotics tools help prototype, test, and train your robots in high-fidelity, realistic simulations before deploying them to the real world.
S
Unity Simulation Pro
+(Simulation-driven development)
A solution for distributed rendering, allowing multiple graphics processing units (GPUs) to render the same project simultaneously, either locally or in a private cloud. Simulations can therefore run at massive scale, empowering developers to iterate and test more.
synthetic data
+(Computer vision)
Artificially created data that does not rely on real-world measurement or situations. Synthetic data not only cuts down the cost and time to collect data, but also offers ways to eliminate bias, increase performance, generate perfect labels, and diversify the data collected. For more information, see Unity Computer Vision.
V
virtual reality (VR)
+(VR)
A simulated immersive environment. VR applications for entertainment include gaming and fitness, while professional uses include task training for workers and immersive design reviews of manufactured products and buildings.
VR tools enable creators to produce computer-generated stereo visuals that surround the application user, and to deliver these immersive experiences to VR headsets for real-time interaction.
VisualLive
+(Architecture, engineering and construction)
A software solution that enables construction professionals to visualize designs and collaborate in real-time by overlaying large building information modeling (BIM) and computer-aided design (CAD) files onto jobsites using augmented reality (AR).
0-9
4D construction
+(Architecture, engineering and construction)
A modeling approach that combines 3D modeling, scheduling information, and sequencing to create a complete, visual construction timeline.