Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
70 results found in Input Methods.
- EdgeWrite (Edge Write)
- A gestural text entry method that uses the physical edges and corners of a square input area to guide character formation. Unlike traditional handwriting recognition that analyzes the full path of a s…
- Electromagnetic Tracking (Magnetic Tracking, 6-DOF Tracking)
- Electromagnetic tracking is a position and orientation sensing technology that uses electromagnetic fields to determine the location and rotation of a sensor in three-dimensional space. Systems like t…
- Eye Cursor (Gaze Cursor)
- A visual indicator displayed on screen that shows where an eye tracking system has determined the user is currently looking. The eye cursor serves the same function as a mouse cursor but is controlled…
- Eye Gaze Technology (Eye Control Technology, Gaze Control)
- Technology that tracks and responds to eye movements, enabling users to control electronic devices using only their eyes. Eye gaze technology typically uses infrared cameras to track pupil position an…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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 …
- Gestural Input (Gesture-based Input, Touch Gestures)
- Input methods that interpret finger movements on a touchscreen as commands, including taps, swipes, pinches, and multi-finger gestures. For blind users, gestural input must be performed without visual…
- Gestural Interaction (Gesture-Based Interaction)
- A mode of human-computer interaction in which users control systems through movements of the body — hands, arms, head, eyes, or whole body — captured by sensors such as accelerometers, cameras, IMUs, …
- Gesture Interaction (Gesture-based interaction, Gestural interfaces)
- An input modality in which users control digital systems through hand, arm, or body movements detected by cameras, depth sensors, IMUs, or wearable devices rather than through traditional keyboards, p…
- Gesture-Based Input (Gesture input, Gestural input, Gesture-based text entry)
- An input method that interprets finger or hand movements — such as swipes, taps, and drawn paths — as commands or text characters. For people with visual impairments, gesture-based input on touchscree…
- Goal Crossing (Crossing-Based Input, Crossing Interface)
- An input technique where users select targets by moving through a boundary line rather than clicking within a target area. Research shows goal crossing can improve input performance for people with mo…
- Grid-Based Cursor Control (Grid-Based Navigation, Grid Overlay Navigation)
- A hands-free cursor positioning technique that overlays a numbered grid on the screen, allowing users to select a cell by voice command or other input to recursively zoom into smaller screen regions u…
- Hands-Free Interface (Hands-Free Computing, Hands-Free Input)
- A hands-free interface is a computer interaction system that does not require the use of hands or fingers, enabling users to control software through alternative input channels such as head movements,…
- Haptic Input (Haptic Interaction, Touch Input)
- Haptic input refers to interaction methods that use the sense of touch to communicate information between a user and a computer system. This includes devices such as data gloves, force-feedback contro…
- Head Pointing (Head-Controlled Pointing, Head Mouse)
- Head pointing is an alternative input method that maps head movements to cursor position on a computer screen, enabling hands-free mouse control. The user moves their head to direct the cursor, with t…
- Humming Interface (Control-by-Humming, Hum-Based Interface)
- A human-computer interaction method that uses hummed pitch patterns as control signals for operating devices. In a humming interface, a pitch detection algorithm analyses the user's hummed input, segm…
- Impulse Engine (Impulse Engine 3000)
- The Impulse Engine 3000 was a force-feedback haptic device manufactured by Immersion Corporation in the 1990s, used for research into haptic interfaces and virtual reality. The device featured a probe…
- Index of Difficulty (ID, Fitts ID)
- The Index of Difficulty (ID) is the central quantity in Fitts' law that captures how hard a rapid aimed pointing movement is, computed as log₂(A/W + 1) in the Shannon formulation, where A is the ampli…