Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
899 results found in Assistive Technology.
- Facial Gesture Recognition (Face Tracking, Facial Expression Recognition)
- Technology that uses cameras and computer vision algorithms to detect and interpret facial movements and expressions in real time. For accessibility, facial gestures such as opening the mouth, raising…
- Facial Recognition (Face Recognition, FR)
- Facial recognition is a computer vision technology that identifies or verifies a person by analyzing and comparing patterns in their facial features from digital images or video. In accessibility cont…
- Feedback Design (System Feedback, User Feedback Design)
- The design of system responses that communicate to users what is happening, what the system understood, and what actions are needed. Effective feedback design is critical in assistive technology, wher…
- Fiducial Marker (ArUco Marker, Fiducial Tag)
- A visual pattern placed on an object or surface that can be detected and identified by computer vision systems to determine the object's position, orientation, and identity. Fiducial markers such as A…
- Find My Things (FMT)
- A Microsoft-developed smartphone app that lets people who are blind or have low vision train a personalized object recognizer by recording short example videos of their own items, then use the trained…
- Finger Assistive Device (FAD)
- A category of wearable assistive devices worn on a finger or fingertip that extend sensing or actuation to the primary locus of tactile perception. The term was introduced by Shilkrot et al. to classi…
- Finger-Worn Camera (Ring camera, Finger-mounted camera, Finger assistive camera)
- A miniature camera attached to a finger, typically via a ring or thimble-like housing, that captures images from the hand rather than from the head or chest. In accessibility contexts, finger-worn cam…
- Fingertip Deflection
- A haptic guidance technique in which a wearable device gently pulls or tilts the fingertip in a chosen direction (abduction, adduction, flexion, or extension) to bias arm motion toward a target during…
- Finite State Machine (FSM, State Machine)
- A computational model that can exist in exactly one of a finite number of states at any given time, transitioning between states in response to specific inputs or events. In assistive technology, fini…
- Fire Vox (FireVox)
- An open-source, cross-platform screen reader implemented as a Firefox browser extension, created by Charles Chen as part of the CLC-4-TTS Suite. Fire Vox was notable as one of the earliest assistive t…
- Force Feedback Joystick (Haptic Joystick, Rumble Joystick)
- An input device that combines a traditional joystick with motors or actuators that apply physical resistance, vibration, or directional forces to the user's hand, providing tactile information about t…
- Foreground Sound (FS)
- In sonification-based web accessibility interfaces, a non-speech audio cue that represents individual content elements within a web page, such as links, images, or text blocks. Foreground sounds are d…
- Formant Synthesis (Rule-based Synthesis, Parametric Synthesis)
- A text-to-speech method that generates synthetic speech by modeling the acoustic properties of human vocal production, particularly formants (resonant frequencies of the vocal tract). Rather than usin…
- Functional Near-Infrared Imaging (fNIR, fNIRS, Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy)
- A neuroimaging technique that measures brain activity by detecting changes in oxygenated blood volume using near-infrared light transmitted through the skull. In accessibility contexts, fNIR enables b…
- Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF, Fused Deposition Modeling, FDM)
- A 3D printing technique that creates objects by depositing melted thermoplastic filament layer by layer. FFF printers heat plastic material (commonly PLA or ABS) and extrude it through a nozzle that m…
- Games for Health (Health Games, Therapeutic Games, Medical Games)
- Digital games designed to promote health outcomes, deliver therapy, support rehabilitation, or encourage healthy behaviors. Unlike entertainment games, games for health have specific therapeutic or he…
- Gaze Fixation (Eye Fixation, Visual Fixation)
- The act of maintaining one's gaze steadily on a specific point or target, as opposed to saccadic eye movements between points. In gaze-based assistive technology, gaze fixation is the primary mechanis…
- Gaze-Based Communication (Eye Gaze Communication, Gaze-Based AAC)
- A form of augmentative and alternative communication that uses eye movement tracking to enable people with severe motor and speech impairments to select words, phrases, symbols, or commands on a scree…
- Gazepoint (Gaze Point, Point of Gaze)
- The specific point on a screen or surface where a person is looking at any given moment, as determined by an eye tracking system. The gazepoint is calculated from the gaze vector — the line extending …
- Gerontechnology (Gerontech)
- An interdisciplinary field combining gerontology (the study of aging) and technology to design products, services, and environments that support the health, independence, and quality of life of older …