Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
35 results found in Wearable Technology.
- Always-On Computing (Always-available computing, Continuous computing)
- A model of interaction in which computing devices — particularly wearables such as smartwatches, AR glasses, and fitness trackers — remain continuously active and accessible throughout the day rather …
- Assistive Suitcase (Robotic Suitcase, Smart Suitcase)
- A mobility aid in the form factor of a rolling travel suitcase that has been augmented with sensors, computing, and feedback mechanisms to help blind or low-vision travellers navigate public spaces. T…
- Bone-Conducting Headphones (Bone Conduction Headphones, Bone Conduction Headset)
- Headphones that transmit sound by vibrating the skull bones directly to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear and leaving the ear canals open. In accessibility contexts they are widely use…
- Bone-Conduction Headset (Bone-conduction headphones, Bone-conduction earphones)
- A headphone that delivers sound by vibrating the bones of the skull and jaw rather than projecting air through the ear canal, leaving the wearer's ears uncovered and able to hear ambient sound. Bone-c…
- 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, …
- Closed-Loop Control (Feedback Control)
- A control strategy in which a system continuously measures the current state, compares it to a desired reference, and adjusts its output to minimize the error. Contrasted with open-loop control, which…
- CyberGlove (CyberGlove II)
- A wearable motion-capture device in the form of a lightweight, elastic glove instrumented with bend sensors that measure the angles of finger joints during hand movement. CyberGloves are widely used i…
- Finger Assistive Device (FAD)
- A category of wearable assistive devices worn on a finger or fingertip that extend sensing or actuation to the primary locus of tactile perception. The term was introduced by Shilkrot et al. to classi…
- Finger-Worn Camera (Ring camera, Finger-mounted camera, Finger assistive camera)
- A miniature camera attached to a finger, typically via a ring or thimble-like housing, that captures images from the hand rather than from the head or chest. In accessibility contexts, finger-worn cam…
- Fingertip Deflection
- A haptic guidance technique in which a wearable device gently pulls or tilts the fingertip in a chosen direction (abduction, adduction, flexion, or extension) to bias arm motion toward a target during…
- Gait Training (Gait Rehabilitation)
- Gait training is therapeutic practice aimed at improving walking function - velocity, stride length, symmetry, stability, and cadence - in people with neurological or musculoskeletal impairments. It i…
- Hearable (Smart Earbud, Smart Earphone)
- A class of in-ear or over-ear wearable devices that combine audio playback with one or more sensors and on-device computing - microphones for ambient audio capture, inertial sensors, biosensors, and m…
- HoloLens (Microsoft HoloLens)
- A self-contained, wearable mixed reality headset developed by Microsoft that overlays interactive holograms onto the user's real-world environment. HoloLens uses spatial mapping, gaze tracking, gestur…
- Kinesthetic Feedback (Kinesthetic Haptics, Force Feedback)
- A form of haptic feedback that engages the body’s sense of limb position, movement, and applied force — the kinesthetic sense mediated by receptors in muscles, tendons, and joints — rather than cutane…
- Mediated Social Touch (Remote Touch, Tele-touch, Haptic Telepresence)
- The use of haptic technology to simulate or communicate social touch gestures — such as stroking, squeezing, patting, or hugging — between people who are physically separated. Mediated social touch sy…
- Multimodal Cueing
- Multimodal cueing is the simultaneous or selectable use of two or more sensory channels - typically visual, auditory, and somatosensory (vibrotactile) - to guide motor behaviour during rehabilitation …
- Muscle-Computer Interface (MCI (Muscle-Computer Interface), EMG Interface)
- An input modality in which signals generated by muscle contractions — typically recorded via surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors worn on the forearm or other muscle group — are interpreted by a co…
- Myo Armband (Thalmic Myo)
- A commercially available wearable gesture-recognition armband released by Thalmic Labs in 2014 and discontinued in 2018, containing eight dry sEMG electrodes sampling at 200 Hz plus a 9-axis IMU. Desp…
- Olfactory Display (Olfactory Interface, Olfactory Feedback, Smell Display, Scent Display)
- An olfactory display is a hardware system that delivers controlled scent stimuli to a user, typically as part of a virtual reality, augmented reality, or multisensory interaction system. Designs range…
- OrCam (OrCam MyEye, OrCam Read)
- A family of wearable assistive devices made by OrCam Technologies that use a camera and on-device AI to read printed text aloud, identify faces and products, and recognize colors and banknotes for bli…