<-Scope Go to ToC References->
Capitalised Terms have the meaning defined in Table 1. Terms applicable to all MPAI Technical Specifications are defined in Table 2. Non-capitalised terms letter have the meaning commonly defined for the context in which they are used or represent an entity in the real world. For instance,
- Table 1 defines Object, Scene, and User but does not define object, scene, and human.
- Object indicates an Item but object indicates an entity in the Universe commonly classified as object.
A dash “-” preceding a Term in Table 1 means the following:
- If the font is normal, the Term in Table 1 without a dash and preceding the one with a dash should be placed before that Term. The notation is used to concentrate in one place all the Terms that are composed of, e.g., the word Data followed by one of the words Format and Type.
- If the font is italic, the Term in the table without a dash and preceding the one with a dash should be placed after that Term. The notation is used to concentrate in one place all the Terms that are composed of, e.g., the word Descriptor preceded by one of the words Face and Body.
Table 1 – Terms and Definitions
Term | Definition |
Attitude | |
– Spatial | Position and Orientation and their velocities and accelerations of a Human and Visual Object in a Virtual Environment. |
Audio | A Data Type an instance of which represents analogue signals – or is rendered to be perceived – in the human-audible range (16 Hz – 20 kHz). |
Avatar | An Object rendered to represent a Human of a Machine in a virtual space. |
– Model | An inanimate Avatar exposing animation interfaces. |
– Portable | A Data Type including Avatar ID, Time, Audio-VisualScene Descriptors, Spatial Attitude, Avatar Model, Body Descriptors, Face Descriptors, Language Preference, Speech Coding, Speech Data, Text, and Personal Status [5]. |
Centre Point | The point of an Object selected to have coordinates (0,0,0). |
Context | Additional information about a communication emitted by an Entity, such as language, culture etc.. |
Data | Information in digital form. |
– Format | A specific digital representation of Data. |
– Type | A recognised instance of Data. |
Descriptor | The Digital Representation of a feature of an Object. |
– Body | A Data Type including the digital representation of the features of the body of a real or digital human. |
– Face | A Data Type including the digital representation of a feature of the face of a real or digital human. |
Digital Representation | Data corresponding to and representing a physical entity. |
Environment | A Virtual Space that may be null or may include an Audio-Visual Scene. |
Human | A human being in a real space. |
– Digital | A Digitised or a Virtual Human. |
– Digitised | An Object that has the appearance of a specific human when rendered. |
– Virtual | An Object created by a computer that has a human appearance when rendered but is not a Digitised Human. |
Identifier | The label uniquely associated with a human or an Object. |
Instance | An element of a set of entities – Objects, Digital Humans etc. – belonging to some levels in a hierarchical classification (taxonomy). |
– Audio | The instance of an Audio Object. |
– Visual | The instance of a Visual Object. |
Object | A data structure that can be rendered to cause an Experience. |
– Audio | An Object described by Audio Descriptors. |
– Audio-Visual | An Object described by Audio-Visual Descriptors. |
– Body | A digital representation of the body of a Human or a Machine. |
– Descriptor | The digital representation of the feature of an Object. |
– Digital | A Digitised or a Virtual Object. |
– Digitised | The digital representation of a real object. |
– Face | The digital representation of the face of a Human or a Machine. |
– Speech | An Object described by Speech Descriptors. |
– Text | A string of Text. |
– Virtual | An Object not representing an object in the real environment. |
– Visual | An Object described by Visual Descriptors. |
Orientation | The 3 Euler angles of an Object in a Virtual Space. |
Position | The coordinates of a representative point for an object in a Virtual Space with respect to a set of coordinate axes. |
Rendering | The process of instantiating a Virtual Space as a human-perceptible entity. |
Scene | A composition of Objects located according to a Scene Geometry. |
– Audio | A Scene composed of Audio Objects. |
– Digital | A digitised scene or a Virtual Scene |
– Audio-Visual | A Scene composed of Audio Objects, Visual Objects and co-located Audio-Visual Objects. |
– Visual | A Scene composed of Visual Objects. |
Scene Descriptors | The digital representation of a feature of a scene. |
– Audio | A Data Type including the digital representation of the audio features of a digital scene. |
– Audio-Visual | A Data Type combining the Audio or Visual Scene Descriptors. |
– Visual | A Data Type including the digital representation of the visual features of a digital scene. |
Scene Geometry | The digital representation of the Object arrangement of a Scene. |
– Audio | A Data Type describing the Spatial arrangement of the Visual Objects of a Scene. |
– Audio-Visual | A Data Type describing the Spatial arrangement of the Audio, Visual, and Audio-Visual Objects of a Scene. |
– Visual | A Data Type describing the Spatial arrangement of the Visual Objects of a Scene. |
Speech | A Data Type an instance of which represents – or is rendered to be perceived – as an analogue signal with vocal characteristics. |
Virtual Space | A space generated and maintained by a computing platform that can be rendered. |
The Terms used in this standard whose first letter is capital and are not already included in Table 1 are defined in Table 2. To concentrate in one place all the Terms that are composed of a common name followed by other words (e.g., the word Data followed by one of the words Format, Type, or Semantics), the definition given to a Terms preceded by a dash “-” applies to a Term composed by that Term without the dash preceded by the Term that precedes it in the column without a dash.
Term | Definition |
Access | Static or slowly changing data that are required by an application such as domain knowledge data, data models, etc. |
AI Framework (AIF) | The environment where AIWs are executed. |
AI Model (AIM) | A data processing element receiving AIM-specific Inputs and producing AIM-specific Outputs according to according to its Function. An AIM may be an aggregation of AIMs. |
AI Workflow (AIW) | A structured aggregation of AIMs implementing a Use Case receiving AIW-specific inputs and producing AIW-specific outputs according to the AIW Function. |
Application Standard | An MPAI Standard designed to enable a particular application domain. |
Channel | A connection between an output port of an AIM and an input port of an AIM. The term “connection” is also used as synonymous. |
Communication | The infrastructure that implements message passing between AIMs. |
Component | One of the 7 AIF elements: Access, Communication, Controller, Internal Storage, Global Storage, Store, and User Agent |
Composite AIM | An AIM aggregating more than one AIM. |
Component | One of the 7 AIF elements: Access, Communication, Controller, Internal Storage, Global Storage, Store, and User Agent |
Conformance | The attribute of an Implementation of being a correct technical Implementation of a Technical Specification. |
– Testing | The normative document specifying the Means to Test the Conformance of an Implementation. |
– Testing Means | Procedures, tools, data sets and/or data set characteristics to Test the Conformance of an Implementation. |
Connection | A channel connecting an output port of an AIM and an input port of an AIM. |
Controller | A Component that manages and controls the AIMs in the AIF, so that they execute in the correct order and at the time when they are needed |
Data | Information in digital form. |
– Format | The standard digital representation of Data. |
– Type | An instance of Data with a specific Data Format. |
– Semantics | The meaning of Data. |
Descriptor | Coded representation of a text, audio, speech, or visual feature. |
Digital Representation | Data corresponding to and representing a physical entity. |
Ecosystem | The ensemble of actors making it possible for a User to execute an application composed of an AIF, one or more AIWs, each with one or more AIMs potentially sourced from independent implementers. |
Explainability | The ability to trace the output of an Implementation back to the inputs that have produced it. |
Fairness | The attribute of an Implementation whose extent of applicability can be assessed by making the training set and/or network open to testing for bias and unanticipated results. |
Function | The operations effected by an AIW or an AIM on input data. |
Global Storage | A Component to store data shared by AIMs. |
AIM/AIW Storage | A Component to store data of the individual AIMs. |
Identifier | A name that uniquely identifies an Implementation. |
Implementation | 1. An embodiment of the MPAI-AIF Technical Specification, or 2. An AIW or AIM of a particular Level (1-2-3) conforming with a Use Case of an MPAI Application Standard. |
Implementer | A legal entity implementing MPAI Technical Specifications. |
ImplementerID (IID) | A unique name assigned by the ImplementerID Registration Authority to an Implementer. |
ImplementerID Registration Authority (IIDRA) | The entity appointed by MPAI to assign ImplementerID’s to Implementers. |
Instance ID | Instance of a class of Objects and the Group of Objects the Instance belongs to. |
Interoperability | The ability to functionally replace an AIM with another AIW having the same Interoperability Level |
– Level | The attribute of an AIW and its AIMs to be executable in an AIF Implementation and to: 1. Be proprietary (Level 1) 2. Pass the Conformance Testing (Level 2) of an Application Standard 3. Pass the Performance Testing (Level 3) of an Application Standard. |
Knowledge Base | Structured and/or unstructured information made accessible to AIMs via MPAI-specified interfaces |
Message | A sequence of Records transported by Communication through Channels. |
Normativity | The set of attributes of a technology or a set of technologies specified by the applicable parts of an MPAI standard. |
Performance | The attribute of an Implementation of being Reliable, Robust, Fair and Replicable. |
– Assessment | The normative document specifying the Means to Assess the Grade of Performance of an Implementation. |
– Assessment Means | Procedures, tools, data sets and/or data set characteristics to Assess the Performance of an Implementation. |
– Assessor | An entity Assessing the Performance of an Implementation. |
Profile | A particular subset of the technologies used in MPAI-AIF or an AIW of an Application Standard and, where applicable, the classes, other subsets, options and parameters relevant to that subset. |
Record | A data structure with a specified structure |
Reference Model | The AIMs and theirs Connections in an AIW. |
Reference Software | A technically correct software implementation of a Technical Specification containing source code, or source and compiled code. |
Reliability | The attribute of an Implementation that performs as specified by the Application Standard, profile, and version the Implementation refers to, e.g., within the application scope, stated limitations, and for the period of time specified by the Implementer. |
Replicability | The attribute of an Implementation whose Performance, as Assessed by a Performance Assessor, can be replicated, within an agreed level, by another Performance Assessor. |
Robustness | The attribute of an Implementation that copes with data outside of the stated application scope with an estimated degree of confidence. |
Scope | The domain of applicability of an MPAI Application Standard |
Service Provider | An entrepreneur who offers an Implementation as a service (e.g., a recommendation service) to Users. |
Standard | A set of Technical Specification, Reference Software, Conformance Testing, Performance Assessment, and Technical Report of an MPAI application Standard. |
Technical Specification | (Framework) the normative specification of the AIF. (Application) the normative specification of the set of AIWs belonging to an application domain along with the AIMs required to Implement the AIWs that includes: 1. The formats of the Input/Output data of the AIWs implementing the AIWs. 2. The Connections of the AIMs of the AIW. 3. The formats of the Input/Output data of the AIMs belonging to the AIW. |
Testing Laboratory | A laboratory accredited to Assess the Grade of Performance of Implementations. |
Time Base | The protocol specifying how Components can access timing information |
Topology | The set of AIM Connections of an AIW. |
Use Case | A particular instance of the Application domain target of an Application Standard. |
User | A user of an Implementation. |
User Agent | The Component interfacing the user with an AIF through the Controller |
Version | A revision or extension of a Standard or of one of its elements. |
Zero Trust | A cybersecurity model primarily focused on data and service protection that assumes no implicit trust. |