Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
93 results found in Motor Accessibility.
- Adaptive User Interface (AUI, Adaptive Interface, Self-Adapting Interface)
- A user interface that automatically detects changes in user behavior or ability and adjusts its presentation or functionality accordingly, without requiring the user to manually configure settings. In…
- Alternative Input Device (Alternative Input, Adapted Input, Alternative Access)
- Any computer input device used in place of a standard keyboard and mouse by people who cannot operate conventional input hardware due to physical, motor, or other disabilities. Alternative input devic…
- Ankle-Foot Orthosis (AFO)
- A lower-limb orthosis that supports the ankle and foot, typically prescribed to control foot drop, improve toe clearance during swing, and stabilise the ankle during stance. AFOs come in solid, hinged…
- Area Pointing (Point and Click, Mouse Pointing)
- Area pointing is the conventional target-acquisition paradigm in graphical user interfaces, in which the user must move a cursor inside a confined two-dimensional target region and then execute a clic…
- Auto-Aim (Lock-On Targeting, Target Assist, Aim Assist)
- An accessibility feature in games and virtual environments that helps users locate and track targets without requiring precise manual aiming. Auto-aim typically scans the environment for objects of in…
- Autofill (Form Autofill, Auto-fill)
- A browser or operating-system feature that automatically populates form fields (name, address, email, payment details) from stored user data. From an accessibility standpoint, autofill reduces typing …
- Biometric Control (Biometric Input, Physiological Control Interface)
- The use of measurable biological signals from the human body — such as brain waves (EEG), skin conductance (galvanic skin response), muscle electrical activity (EMG), heart rate, or eye movements — as…
- Breathing Input (Breath-based Input, Puff Input)
- An alternative computer input method that uses deliberate breath actions — such as puffing, blowing, or inhaling — detected by a microphone or pressure sensor as control signals for navigating interfa…
- Bubble Cursor (Dynamic Cursor, Area Cursor)
- An enhanced pointing technique that dynamically resizes the cursor's activation area to make target selection easier, particularly for users with motor impairments. The bubble cursor expands to encomp…
- Continuous Input (Continuous Control, Analog Input)
- Continuous input is any interaction technique in which the user varies a parameter smoothly along a range rather than selecting from a set of discrete options — adjusting a slider, dragging a brush, t…
- Continuous Specification (Continuous Positioning, Continuous Cursor Movement)
- In cursor control interfaces, a positioning method where the cursor moves steadily in a given direction at a controlled rate until the user signals it to stop. This approach allows precise positioning…
- Curse of Dimensionality (Accessibility)
- In an accessibility context, the practical barrier that arises when a player or user must coordinate a large number of distinct inputs simultaneously or in rapid succession — for example, moving, aimi…
- Cursor Control (Pointer Control, Cursor Navigation)
- The ability to direct and position an on-screen cursor or pointer using an input device such as a mouse, trackball, touchpad, joystick, or eye tracker. Cursor control is a fundamental requirement for …
- Cursor Deviation (Cursor Drift, Path Deviation)
- The difference between the actual path taken by a cursor and the ideal straight-line path between the starting point and the target. Cursor deviation is a key performance metric in evaluating alternat…
- Cursor Movement (Cursor Navigation, Pointer Movement, Mouse Movement)
- The process of controlling the position of a pointer or cursor on screen using an input device such as a mouse, trackpad, or joystick. Cursor movement efficiency is a key metric in accessibility resea…
- Debounce (Debounce Filter, Key Debounce, Bounce Key Filter)
- A keyboard accessibility feature that filters out unintended extra keypresses caused by tremor or imprecise motor control. When enabled, the system ignores rapid successive activations of the same key…
- Direction-Based Navigation (Directional Navigation, Direction-Based Cursor Control)
- A cursor control method where users issue directional commands such as "move left," "move up," or "move down" to reposition the cursor on screen. In speech-based implementations, these commands move t…
- Discrete Specification (Discrete Positioning, Grid-Based Positioning)
- In cursor control interfaces, a positioning method where the user selects from a finite set of predefined locations to move the cursor to an approximate position quickly. Examples include grid-based s…
- EMG Switch (Electromyography Switch, Muscle Signal Switch)
- An assistive technology switch that detects electrical signals produced by muscle contractions (electromyography) to generate a switch activation. EMG switches can detect even very small muscle moveme…
- 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…