OpenSensation™
OPEN RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE / v0.1.0

The world is sensed.
Let’s describe how.

A shared knowledge layer for biological senses and artificial sensors. From physical stimulus to signal, sensation, and context.

Explore senses ↗Build with the API →
◎ Open data. Explicit evidence. Built for inquiry.
23Sensory modalities
46Sensors & receptors
42Stimulus concepts
39Sensation concepts
Explore the v0.1.0 dataset ↗

01 / THE KNOWLEDGE LAYER

A clearer path from
input to interpretation.

Sensing research spans disciplines that often describe the same system differently. OpenSensation connects the concepts while keeping their boundaries visible.

01StimulusWhat changes02Sensor / receptorWhat responds03SignalWhat is encoded04ProcessingWhat transforms05SensationWhat is sensed06Candidate perceptWhat it may mean

The final step is a possibility, not a conclusion. Appraisal, emotion, and action sit beyond the core v0.1 model.

02 / EXPLORE THE ATLAS

Many ways to sense.

Browse all collections ↗
◉
BIOLOGICAL / VISION

From light to brightness ↗

Explore visual sensing, receptors, and the distinction between luminance and sensation.

⌁
ARTIFICIAL / LiDAR

Distance, encoded ↗

Trace a ranging sensor’s inputs, capabilities, processing, and limitations.

▥
INTERNAL / TELEMETRY

A system sensing itself ↗

Describe energy and hardware state without implying subjective experience.

Browse sensors →Browse stimuli →Browse sensations →Explore limitations →

03 / INTENSITY & CONTEXT

The same contact.
A different possibility.

Force alone does not describe touch. Duration, location, movement, prior state, and context can all matter.

Our ontology separates physical input from sensed intensity and candidate interpretation. It never turns an illustrative association into a universal rule.

Read the touch example ↗
SHARED INPUT

Mechanical contact

Force · pressure · area · duration

Expected + voluntaryFriendly touch?
Unexpected + restrictedRestraint?

Illustrative candidate interpretations. No probability or deterministic mapping is asserted.

04 / OPEN BY DESIGN

Research-ready structure.
A simple API.

Query versioned concepts, follow relationships, and inspect the evidence behind a claim. Anonymous, read-only access with JSON, YAML, and CSV exports.

Try the API ↗Read documentation →
GET /v1/sensors/lidarView JSON ↗
{
  "meta": {
    "api_version": "v1",
    "dataset_version": "0.1.0"
  },
  "data": {
    "id": "opensensation:sensor:lidar",
    "name": "LiDAR",
    "classification": "artificial"
  }
}
Response excerpt · full record includes evidence and relationships

05 / KNOWLEDGE IS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT

Make the evidence visible.

This first release is primarily editorial seed material. Sources, uncertainty, and disagreements belong alongside the concepts, not behind them.

01

Trace the claim

Evidence is attached to individual claims. A citation does not certify an entire record.

How evidence works →
02

Bring your expertise

Researchers and engineers can propose corrections, add sources, and submit scoped reviews.

Contribution guide →
03

Keep it open

Human-readable YAML is authoritative. The database, API, and graph are derived views.

Contribute on GitHub ↗

PART OF AI ATTRIBUTES™

Connected concepts.
Careful boundaries.

OpenSensation describes sensing. Its sibling OpenEmotions™ ↗ addresses emotion-related concepts. Future interoperability will preserve context and appraisal between them.

Cross-project references are conceptual. Live integration is not part of this release.

Discover AI Attributes™ ↗