Glossary

Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.

18 results found in Indoor Navigation.

CaBot (Carry-on Robot, Carnegie Mellon Suitcase Robot)
A research project begun in 2017 at Carnegie Mellon University that developed a suitcase-shaped autonomous navigation robot to guide blind and low-vision travellers through indoor public spaces. CaBot…
ChamBadge (Chambadge)
A wearable accessible cell phone device developed as part of the Talking Braille ubiquitous computing system for indoor wayfinding. The ChamBadge combines a cell phone with a bone-conduction headset, …
Cyber Crumb (Digital Crumb, Electronic Breadcrumb)
A concept in accessible wayfinding where tiny, inexpensive solar-powered digital chips are placed along building walkways like a trail of breadcrumbs, storing location-specific information that can be…
HULOP (Human-scale Localization Platform)
An open-source indoor navigation platform originally developed by IBM Research to support blind navigation using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacon fingerprinting for localisation plus a topological ma…
Indoor Localization (Indoor Positioning, Indoor Positioning System, IPS)
The problem of determining the precise location of a person or device inside a building, where GPS signals are weak or unavailable. Indoor localization is foundational for accessible wayfinding system…
Inertial Sensing (IMU sensing, Inertial measurement)
The use of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and magnetometers — often built into smartphones and wearable devices — to measure motion, orientation, and direction of movement. In accessibility applications,…
Infrared (IR, Infrared Communication)
A wireless communication technology that uses infrared light to transmit data over short distances, commonly used in assistive technology for line-of-sight data exchange between devices. In accessibil…
Intersection Detection (Junction detection, Corridor intersection recognition)
A computer-vision or sensor-fusion technique used in indoor navigation systems for blind travellers to identify where two or more walkable corridors meet, so the navigation software can update the use…
Narrative Route Description (Verbal Route Guidance, Turn-by-Turn Narrative)
A structured verbal representation of a travel route that guides users through sequential steps using spoken or text-based instructions. Effective narrative descriptions for blind travelers typically …
Node Map (Topological node map, Graph map)
A graph-based representation of a walkable space in which each node corresponds to a meaningful point — typically an intersection, a destination (room, exit, stairwell), or the user's current position…
RSSI Fingerprinting (Received Signal Strength Fingerprinting, Radio Fingerprinting, Signal Fingerprinting)
An indoor localization technique in which a device estimates its position by comparing the current pattern of received signal strengths (RSSI) from surrounding radio sources — most commonly Bluetooth …
Signal Fingerprinting (Wireless Fingerprinting, RF Fingerprinting, Bluetooth Fingerprinting)
Signal fingerprinting is a technique used in indoor positioning systems where the unique pattern of wireless signal strengths (such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or RFID) at specific locations within a buildin…
Social Robot Navigation (Socially-aware robot navigation, Social navigation)
A subfield of robotics concerned with how a mobile robot should move through environments shared with humans — choosing paths, speeds, and timings that respect social norms as well as physical obstacl…
Soundscape (Auditory Soundscape, Audio Landscape)
An auditory environment where multiple spatialized sounds represent objects or landmarks in all directions around a listener, creating an acoustic representation of physical space. In accessibility ap…
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…
Ultra-Wideband (UWB, Ultra wideband)
A short-range radio-frequency technology that uses very wide frequency bands (typically above 500 MHz) and very short pulses to enable centimetre-accurate distance and angle-of-arrival measurements be…
Wi-Fi Fingerprinting (WiFi Fingerprinting, Wi-Fi Positioning)
An indoor localization technique that estimates a device's position by comparing the signal strengths of nearby Wi-Fi access points against a pre-collected database of "fingerprints" — measurements ta…
ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4)
A low-power, low-data-rate wireless networking protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, designed for short-range communication between devices in personal area networks. In accessibility and assi…