Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
899 results found in Assistive Technology.
- Live Captioning (Real-Time Captioning, Live Captions)
- The process of converting spoken language into text displayed in real time, enabling Deaf and hard of hearing individuals to follow live audio content such as meetings, lectures, broadcasts, and event…
- Location Awareness (Location-Aware Computing, Location Sensing)
- The ability of a computing system to determine and respond to the physical location of a user or device, typically using GPS, Wi-Fi positioning, cellular triangulation, or other sensing technologies. …
- Logical Control (Indirect Control)
- An interaction paradigm where the user accesses specific functions supported by an application indirectly, typically by selecting from a presented set of options rather than performing the action dire…
- Logical Metaphor (Spatial Metaphor)
- A design technique for haptic feedback where the physical location of a vibration on the body is mapped to correspond with a spatial or conceptual dimension of the information being conveyed. For exam…
- Lombard Effect (Lombard Reflex, Lombard Response)
- The involuntary tendency of speakers to increase the intensity, duration, and fundamental frequency of their speech when communicating in noisy environments. Named after French otolaryngologist Étienn…
- Look to Speak
- A free Android application developed by Google Creative Lab that enables people with speech and motor impairments to communicate by selecting images or pre-written phrases using eye movements detected…
- Low Bandwidth Input (Limited Input, Reduced Bandwidth Input)
- A category of human-computer interaction where the user can only produce a very small number of distinct signals — typically one to four — when communicating with a computer. Low bandwidth input chara…
- Low-Barrier Access (Low-Barrier Technology)
- Technology or services designed to minimize obstacles to initial use, including cost, setup complexity, training requirements, and technical prerequisites. Low-barrier access is particularly important…
- Low-Resource Setting (Resource-Limited Setting, Resource-Constrained Environment)
- A context characterized by limited financial resources, infrastructure, trained professionals, and technological capacity that affects the availability and sustainability of services including healthc…
- Low-Tech AAC (No-Tech AAC, Unaided AAC)
- Augmentative and alternative communication methods that require no or minimal technology, including communication boards, picture cards, letter boards, eye-pointing frames, sign language, and gestures…
- MIDI Controller (MIDI Input Device)
- A hardware device that generates MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) messages to control music software or sound modules without being a traditional musical instrument. MIDI controllers includ…
- Magnification Factor (Zoom Level, Magnification Level, Zoom Factor)
- The ratio by which screen content is enlarged when using a screen magnifier. A magnification factor of 2x means the content appears twice its original size, but only one quarter of the original screen…
- Makers Making Change (MMC)
- Makers Making Change is a Canadian non-profit program (part of the Neil Squire Society) that connects volunteer makers with people with disabilities to design, 3D-print, and distribute low-cost, open-…
- Makey Makey
- A small electronic invention kit that uses alligator clips to connect everyday conductive objects — fruit, foil, playdough, drawn pencil lines — to a computer, which sees them as keyboard presses or m…
- Manual Wheelchair (Self-propelled wheelchair)
- A wheelchair propelled by the user pushing on handrims attached to the rear wheels, or by an attendant pushing from behind. Manual wheelchairs are the most common type of wheelchair used for personal …
- Mapping by Demonstration
- A personalisation technique for gestural and sensor-based interfaces in which the system learns the relationship between user input (movement, breath, gaze) and output (sound, visuals, commands) from …
- Markov Decision Process (MDP)
- A mathematical framework for modelling decision-making in situations where outcomes are partly random and partly under the control of a decision-maker. In accessibility and assistive technology, Marko…
- Matching Person and Technology (MPT Model)
- A framework for understanding assistive technology adoption that considers the match between a person's characteristics (preferences, needs, lifestyle), the environmental context, and the technology's…
- Math-to-Speech (Mathematical Speech Generation, Math Speech)
- The process of converting mathematical notation into spoken language that can be rendered by text-to-speech engines or read aloud by screen readers. Math-to-speech is significantly more complex than r…
- MathPlayer
- A software plugin developed by Design Science that enables the rendering and text-to-speech reading of mathematical expressions encoded in MathML within web browsers and other applications. MathPlayer…