Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
899 results found in Assistive Technology.
- Speech-to-Sign Translation (Spoken Language to Sign Language Translation)
- The process of automatically converting spoken language into sign language output, typically displayed through a signing avatar or animated character. Speech-to-sign translation involves three major c…
- Speed Dial (One-touch Dialing, Quick Dial)
- Speed dial is a mobile or landline phone feature that lets a user place a call to a preset contact by pressing one or two assigned digits rather than entering a full phone number. Originally introduce…
- Spoken Dialogue System (SDS, Voice Dialogue System)
- A computer system that communicates with users through spoken natural language, allowing them to interact via voice rather than visual or manual interfaces. Spoken dialogue systems are used in telecar…
- Stance-Control Orthosis (Stance-control KAFO, SCO, Stance-control knee-ankle-foot orthosis)
- A class of knee-ankle-foot orthoses that lock the knee during the stance (weight-bearing) phase of gait to prevent buckling, but unlock it during the swing phase to allow natural knee flexion. Stance-…
- Steering Law (Accot-Zhai Steering Law)
- A predictive model of human movement describing the time required to navigate a cursor through a constrained path, such as a tunnel or curved corridor on screen. Proposed by Accot and Zhai as an exten…
- Stenographic Keyboard (Steno Machine, Stenotype, Shorthand Keyboard)
- A specialized keyboard used by CART captioners and court reporters that allows simultaneous pressing of multiple keys to represent syllables, words, or phrases in a single stroke, enabling transcripti…
- Step-by-Step Device (Sequential Message Device, Step-by-Step Communicator, SBS)
- A simple, single-switch augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device that stores a sequence of pre-recorded voice messages and plays them back one at a time with each button press. Step-by-…
- Stereo Panning (Audio Panning, Pan)
- The technique of distributing a mono sound signal between the left and right channels of a stereo output to create the perception that the sound originates from a specific horizontal position in space…
- Stereo Vision (Stereoscopic Vision, Stereo Camera System, Stereopsis)
- A computer vision technique that uses two or more cameras positioned at slightly different viewpoints to extract three-dimensional depth information from a scene, mimicking the way human binocular vis…
- Stereoscopic Camera (Stereo Camera, Depth Camera, 3D Camera)
- A camera system that uses two or more lenses to capture images from slightly different perspectives, mimicking human binocular vision to compute depth information (disparity maps). In accessibility ap…
- Structural Abstraction (Formula Abstraction, Expression Collapsing)
- Structural abstraction is an accessibility technique that simplifies complex visual structures — particularly mathematical formulas — by initially collapsing sub-expressions into symbolic summaries an…
- Structured Audio (Structured Digital Audio)
- Structured audio refers to digital audio content that has been encoded with hierarchical markers and metadata, allowing non-sequential access to specific segments such as chapters, sections, paragraph…
- Subvocal Input (Subvocal Control, Subvocalisation Input)
- An input method that uses very quiet or nearly silent vocalisations — sounds produced with minimal vocal effort that are typically inaudible to nearby people. Subvocal input includes techniques such a…
- Suitcase Robot (Suitcase-shaped robot, Robotic suitcase)
- A class of autonomous navigation robots housed inside a rolling suitcase or carry-on-shaped enclosure, designed so that a blind or low-vision user can grip the handle and be guided to a destination wh…
- Surface Haptics (Surface Haptic Technology)
- A branch of haptic technology that creates tactile sensations directly on a flat surface, such as a touchscreen, by modulating the friction between a fingertip and the display. Unlike conventional vib…
- Swarm robotics (Multi-robot systems)
- A field of robotics involving the coordination of multiple simple robots that work together as a group, inspired by collective behaviours in nature such as ant colonies or bird flocking. Individual ro…
- Switch Access (Switch Control, Switch Scanning)
- A method of computer and device interaction that uses one or more switches as input devices, designed for people who cannot use standard keyboards, mice, or touchscreens due to motor impairments. Swit…
- Switch Keyboard (Scanning Keyboard, On-Screen Scanning Keyboard)
- A switch keyboard is a virtual keyboard interface designed for people with severe motor disabilities who cannot use a standard keyboard or pointing device. It works through a scanning mechanism: a cur…
- Switch Scanning (Scanning Mode, Auto Scanning)
- An input method for assistive technology where options are sequentially highlighted (scanned) and the user activates a single switch to select the currently highlighted item. This enables people with …
- Switch Scanning (Switch Access, Scanning Input)
- An alternative input method in which items on a screen are sequentially highlighted and the user activates a switch to select the desired item when it is highlighted. Switch scanning is used by people…