Archinect's Lexicon focuses on newly invented (or adopted) vocabulary within the architectural community. For this installment, we're featuring a term that recently found prominence with the unveiling of the new Apple Vision Pro device.

"Spatial computing" represents a fusion of diverse digital technologies that engage with physical spaces and their human inhabitants. This complex discipline involves merging real and virtual worlds, where digital systems and software function within three dimensions. It combines various technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

A significant example of spatial computing in action is Apple's newly-released Vision Pro spatial computer. This cutting-edge device allows users to interact with digital objects and information in their surrounding physical environment, thereby blurring the line between the physical and digital worlds. The term is also interlinked with the concept of ubiquitous computing, which was the subject of an earlier edition of Archinect's Lexicon.

For architects and city planners, spatial computing is incredibly relevant. Utilizing spatial computing devices, they can visualize, manipulate, and experiment with 3D models of planned buildings or cityscapes before actual construction. This technology provides an immersive understanding of how a design will integrate with its environment and how people will interact within it. The architects can virtually walk clients through a proposed design, enabling real-time alterations and improvements. 

Coupled with IoT data collection and AI analysis, spatial computing can help architects anticipate future trends, leading to designs that are sustainable, efficient, and tailored to users' needs.