Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
27 results found in Tactile Accessibility.
- 3D Printing Pen (3D Pen)
- A handheld device that extrudes a quick-cooling thermoplastic filament (commonly PLA, PCL, or ABS) through a heated nozzle, leaving raised, three-dimensional lines that solidify within seconds of bein…
- Bimanual Exploration (Two-handed exploration, Bimanual tactile exploration)
- The use of both hands in coordinated roles to perceive an object or space by touch. In blind and low-vision users, bimanual exploration is typically asymmetric: one hand (often the non-dominant) serve…
- Conductive Filament (Conductive 3D printing filament, Conductive PLA)
- A specialized 3D printing material that conducts electricity, enabling printed objects to interact with capacitive touchscreens. In accessibility applications, conductive filament can be embedded in o…
- Detectable Warnings (Detectable Warning Surfaces, Tactile Warning Surfaces)
- Detectable warnings are standardised tactile surface features installed on walking surfaces to alert people with visual impairments to hazards or transitions — most commonly the edge of a transit plat…
- Digital Embroidery (Computerised Embroidery, Machine Embroidery)
- Fabrication of stitched patterns on fabric using a computer-controlled embroidery machine that reads a digitised design file (e.g., DST, EXP) and drives a needle to produce precise, repeatable stitche…
- Exploratory Procedures (EPs)
- Exploratory procedures are stereotyped movement patterns that people use when examining objects through touch to identify specific properties. Defined by Lederman and Klatzky in tactile perception res…
- Haptic Exploration (Tactile Exploration, Touch Exploration)
- The process of acquiring spatial and object information through systematic touch and hand movements. Haptic exploration involves active manipulation and movement across surfaces to perceive shape, siz…
- Haptic Virtual Reality (Haptic VR, Feelable Virtual Environment)
- Haptic virtual reality refers to virtual environments that incorporate touch-based feedback, allowing users to feel virtual textures, shapes, and objects through force-feedback devices. Unlike visual-…
- Monarch (Monarch Tactile Display, Dynamic Tactile Device)
- The Monarch is a multi-line refreshable tactile display developed by HumanWare and the American Printing House for the Blind, representing a significant advancement in tactile display technology. Unli…
- Pantograph (Haptic Pantograph)
- A haptic input device that allows users to explore a two-dimensional surface by physically moving a stylus or finger pad across an exploration area, while receiving tactile feedback from an attached t…
- Raised Line Drawing (Raised Line Graphic, Tactile Line Drawing, Swell Paper Drawing)
- A graphic representation in which lines and shapes are physically raised above the surface of paper or another substrate so they can be perceived by touch. Raised line drawings are a fundamental tool …
- Skin Stretch Display (Skin Stretch, Lateral Skin Deformation Display, STReSS)
- A type of haptic display technology that produces tactile feedback by laterally stretching the skin of the user's fingertip, rather than using raised pins or vibration. Skin stretch displays typically…
- Tactile Drawing (Tactile Picture Making)
- The process of creating raised-line images that can be perceived through touch rather than vision. Tactile drawing can be done by blind or sighted people using methods such as drawing on swell paper w…
- Tactile Exploration Strategy (Haptic Exploration Strategy, Touch Exploration Pattern)
- A systematic approach or pattern that a person uses when exploring tactile graphics, maps, or other touch-based representations. Research has identified several distinct strategies: "following outline…
- Tactile Image Exploration (Tactile Graphics Exploration, Haptic Image Exploration)
- Tactile image exploration is the process by which blind or visually impaired users perceive and interpret graphical content through touch, typically by moving their fingers across raised-line drawings…
- Tactile Imaging (Tactile Image, Tactile Image Conversion, Visual-to-Tactile Conversion)
- The process of converting visual images into tactile representations that can be perceived through touch, enabling blind and visually impaired users to access graphical information. Tactile imaging in…
- Tactile Perception (Cutaneous Perception, Touch Perception)
- Tactile perception is the process of perceiving and interpreting information through the sense of touch, encompassing both cutaneous perception (sensing through the skin in a stationary process, detec…
- Tactile Printer (Braille Embosser, Tactile Embosser)
- A device that produces raised-line graphics and text on paper or other media, enabling people who are blind or have low vision to access visual information through touch. Tactile printers work by embo…
- Tactile Rendering
- The process of converting visual or spatial information into a tactile format that can be perceived through touch by blind or visually impaired users. Tactile rendering involves decisions about how to…
- Tactile Stimulation (Tactile Feedback, Cutaneous Stimulation)
- Tactile stimulation refers to the use of physical sensations delivered to the skin to convey information, typically through vibrations, pin arrays, textures, or pressure changes. In assistive technolo…