Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- Joystick (Adaptive Joystick)
- A joystick is an input device with a lever that tilts in multiple directions to control cursor movement on screen, used as an alternative pointing device by people with motor impairments who have diff…
- Just-in-Time Intervention (JITI, Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention, JITAI)
- A technology-delivered intervention that provides the right type and amount of support at the right time, adapting to the user's current context, mental state, and needs. Unlike scheduled therapy sess…
- Just-in-Time Programming (JIT Programming, Real-Time AAC Configuration)
- A method of configuring AAC devices in real time by capturing an image of a current activity, social interaction, or object and immediately creating a visual scene display with relevant communication …
- Just-in-Time Support (JIT Support, Just-in-Time Programming, JIT Vocabulary)
- In augmentative and alternative communication, the programming and availability of language concepts at the moment they are needed, rather than requiring pre-planning. Just-in-time support can be ment…
- Key Frame Extraction (Keyframe Selection, Key Frame Selection)
- A computer vision technique that automatically identifies and selects the most representative or highest-quality frames from a continuous video stream. In accessibility contexts, key frame extraction …
- Keyboard Configuration (Keyboard Customisation, Keyboard Settings)
- The process of adjusting keyboard behaviour and settings to match an individual user's needs and abilities. For people with motor disabilities, keyboard configuration may include enabling accessibilit…
- Keyboard Shortcut (Hotkey, Keyboard Accelerator, Access Key, Shortcut Key)
- A key or combination of keys that triggers a specific command or function in software without requiring navigation through menus or interface elements. Keyboard shortcuts are essential for accessibili…
- Keystroke Saving Rate (KSR, Keystroke Savings)
- A metric measuring the efficiency of text prediction systems by calculating the percentage of keystrokes saved compared to typing the same text on a standard keyboard without prediction. A KSR of 50% …
- Keystroke Savings (KS, Key Savings)
- A metric used to evaluate word prediction systems, measuring the percentage of keystrokes eliminated by accepting predictions compared to typing the full text character by character. While keystroke s…
- Kurzweil Reading Machine (KRM, Kurzweil Reader)
- A pioneering reading device for blind people invented by Ray Kurzweil in 1976, combining optical character recognition (OCR) with text-to-speech synthesis to read printed text aloud. The original devi…
- LaTeX (TeX)
- A document typesetting language widely used in academia and STEM fields for producing scientific documents containing complex mathematical formulae. LaTeX encodes mathematical content as plain text ma…
- Language Model (Statistical Language Model, LM)
- A computational model that assigns probabilities to sequences of words, enabling prediction of likely next words or sentences in text. In assistive technology, language models power word and sentence …
- Large Print (Large Type, Enlarged Print, Giant Print)
- Text or graphic material produced in a larger-than-standard font size to improve readability for people with low vision. Large print typically uses font sizes of 16 to 18 points or larger, though indi…
- Last-Few-Metres Problem (Last Few Meters Problem)
- The difficulty that blind and low-vision pedestrians face in the final short distance (roughly the last several metres) of a trip, where GPS accuracy degrades, building entrances are ambiguous, and di…
- Leap Motion (Leap Motion Controller)
- A compact infrared hand-tracking sensor that uses binocular cameras to detect and track finger and hand positions in three-dimensional space without physical contact. In accessibility research, Leap M…
- Learning by Doing (Incidental Learning, Learning-While-Doing)
- Learning by doing is a pedagogical and interface design principle in which skills are acquired through the process of performing tasks rather than through separate, explicit instruction. In human-comp…
- Legion:Scribe (Scribe, Legion Scribe)
- A crowd captioning system developed at the University of Rochester that enables multiple non-expert typists to collectively produce real-time captions by simultaneously typing partial transcriptions o…
- LiDAR (Light detection and ranging, Laser scanning)
- A remote sensing technology that measures distances by emitting laser pulses and analysing the reflected light, producing precise three-dimensional point clouds of the surrounding environment. In acce…
- Lime Lighter
- A specialized hardware and software system developed by Dancing Dots, a company led by a blind musician, for reading and navigating music scores accessibly. The Lime Lighter includes features like Blu…
- Liminality (Liminal State, Liminal Period)
- A transitional state of being "betwixt and between" established social positions, originally described by anthropologist Victor Turner. In accessibility contexts, liminality refers to the uncertain, i…