Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
899 results found in Assistive Technology.
- User Agent (Browser, Web Browser)
- In web accessibility, a user agent is any software that retrieves, renders, and facilitates user interaction with web content. This includes mainstream web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, a…
- User Interface Agent (Interface Agent, Software Agent, Assistant Agent)
- A software component that observes user behaviour and the state of an application, then unobtrusively offers help — suggestions, shortcuts, summaries, or warnings — to reduce workload or prevent error…
- User model (User modeling, User modelling)
- A computational representation of a user's characteristics, abilities, preferences, and behavior patterns, used to predict how they will interact with a system or to adapt an interface to their needs.…
- VQA (Visual Question Answering)
- VQA (Visual Question Answering) is an AI task in which a system answers natural-language questions about the content of an image. In assistive contexts, VQA systems such as Be My AI, Seeing AI, and Ai…
- VR Accessibility Training (Virtual Reality Training for Accessibility, VR-Based AT Training)
- The use of virtual reality environments to teach people with disabilities how to use assistive technologies or navigate unfamiliar real-world scenarios in a safe, controlled setting. VR training allow…
- Variable Friction (Variable Friction Display, Friction Modulation)
- A surface haptics technique that dynamically adjusts the friction between a user's fingertip and a touchscreen surface to create the sensation of different textures. Typically achieved through ultraso…
- Verbosity Settings (Screen Reader Verbosity, Announcement Settings)
- Configuration options that control the amount of detail a screen reader or accessible application announces to the user. Verbosity settings allow users to adjust the balance between receiving comprehe…
- Verification loop (Feedback loop, Edit-verify cycle)
- An interaction pattern in which a user performs an action, receives feedback about the result, evaluates whether the outcome matches their intent, and decides whether to accept, undo, or refine the ac…
- Vibro-Audio Map (VAM, Vibro-Audio Display)
- A multimodal map representation for touchscreen devices that combines vibrotactile feedback with synchronised audio cues to convey spatial information non-visually. Users explore the map by dragging a…
- Vibromotor (Vibration Motor, Vibrotactile Actuator, ERM)
- A vibromotor is a small motor that produces vibration, commonly used in haptic feedback devices, smartphones, and wearable technology. The most common types are eccentric rotating mass (ERM) motors, w…
- Vibrotactile Feedback (VTF, Vibration Feedback)
- A form of haptic feedback that communicates information through vibration patterns delivered to the skin, typically via small motors embedded in wearable devices such as armbands, gloves, or watches. …
- Vibrotactile feedback (Tactile vibration, Haptic vibration)
- A form of haptic feedback that uses mechanical vibrations applied to the skin to convey information through the sense of touch. Vibrotactile actuators can communicate directional cues, alerts, pattern…
- Video Enrichment (Enriched Video, Video Augmentation)
- The process of augmenting video content with additional elements such as captions, audio descriptions, images, audio cues, hyperlinks, or tactile outputs to make it more accessible or informative for …
- Video Phone (Videophone, VP)
- A telecommunications device that enables real-time video and audio communication between two or more parties. For Deaf and hard of hearing people, video phones are essential communication tools that a…
- Video Prompting (Video-based prompting, Step-by-step video instruction)
- An instructional technique that uses short video clips to show a person with a developmental or intellectual disability how to complete individual steps of a task, presented one step at a time. Unlike…
- Videoconferencing Accessibility (Virtual Meeting Accessibility)
- The extent to which videoconferencing platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet can be used effectively by people with disabilities. Key accessibility concerns include screen reader compat…
- Virtual Acoustic Environment (Audio Virtual Environment, Acoustic Virtual Environment)
- A computer-generated environment that uses audio as the primary medium for representing spaces, objects, and interactions, enabling users to navigate and interact with a virtual world through sound. V…
- Virtual Keyboard (On-screen keyboard, Soft keyboard, OSK)
- A software-rendered keyboard displayed on screen that allows users to input text by clicking, tapping, or hovering over virtual keys using a mouse, trackball, touchscreen, eye tracker, or other pointi…
- Virtual Reality (VR, Immersive Virtual Environment)
- A computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional environment that users can interact with using specialized hardware such as headsets, motion controllers, or body tracking sensors. In accessibil…
- Virtual Signing (Avatar Signing, Synthetic Signing)
- Virtual signing is the use of computer-generated animated characters (avatars) to present sign language, as an alternative to pre-recorded video of human signers. Virtual signing systems typically inv…