Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- MediaPipe
- An open-source framework by Google for building multimodal machine learning pipelines, commonly used for real-time face, hand, and body tracking. In accessibility applications, MediaPipe Holistic extr…
- Medical Maker (Clinician-Maker)
- A healthcare professional who also engages in fabrication and making activities, bridging the gap between clinical expertise and maker culture. Medical makers combine knowledge of patient safety, reha…
- Medical model of disability (Medical model)
- A framework that views disability as a problem residing in the individual, caused by disease, trauma, or health condition, and requiring medical intervention to "fix" the person. In this model, a blin…
- Medicalised Aesthetic (Medical Model Design, Clinical Aesthetic)
- A design approach in assistive technology that prioritises clinical functionality over personal style, resulting in devices that visually signal disability through neutral, institutional-looking form …
- Medication Adherence (Treatment Adherence, Medication Compliance)
- Medication adherence is the degree to which a patient takes medication as prescribed — at the correct dose, frequency, and duration. It is a significant challenge in chronic disease management, with n…
- Mercator
- A research screen reader system developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology by W. Keith Edwards and Elizabeth Mynatt for the X Window System on Unix workstations. Mercator pioneered the approach …
- Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses (Ray-Ban Meta, Meta Smart Glasses)
- Consumer smart glasses produced through a partnership between Meta and Ray-Ban that integrate cameras, speakers, and microphones into a conventional eyewear form factor. When paired with Meta's Live A…
- Metaverse
- The metaverse refers to a persistent, interconnected network of virtual and mixed-reality spaces where users can interact, collaborate, and engage with digital content and each other in real time. It …
- Micro Assistive Technology (Micro-AT, Accessibility Plugins)
- Small, single-feature assistive technology components that address specific accessibility needs, analogous to browser plugins or app add-ons in mainstream software. Unlike full assistive technology su…
- Micro-Prompting (Step Prompting, Task Segmentation)
- An assistive technology approach that breaks complex multi-step tasks into individual sub-steps, presenting each step one at a time to guide users through completion. Originally developed to support p…
- Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA, Active Accessibility)
- Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) is an accessibility API introduced by Microsoft in 1997 that enables assistive technologies such as screen readers to interact with user interface elements in Win…
- Microsoft HoloLens (HoloLens, HoloLens 2)
- A self-contained, optical see-through mixed reality headset developed by Microsoft that overlays holographic content onto the real world. The HoloLens 2 features hand and eye tracking, spatial mapping…
- Microsoft Kinect (Kinect, Kinect sensor)
- A motion-sensing device that captures RGB video, depth images, and skeletal tracking data simultaneously. Originally developed for gaming, the Kinect became widely adopted in accessibility research du…
- Microsoft Soundscape (Soundscape)
- Microsoft Soundscape was an accessible navigation app developed by Microsoft Research that used spatialized 3D audio to help blind and low-vision users build awareness of their surroundings. Rather th…
- Microswitch (Micro-switch, Assistive Switch)
- A small, sensitive switch used in assistive technology that can be activated by minimal physical movement such as a light touch, head turn, or muscle contraction. Microswitches are used to provide env…
- Midas Touch Problem (Midas Touch, Gaze Cursor Problem)
- A fundamental challenge in eye-gaze interaction where every object a user looks at becomes unintentionally selected, because the eyes serve dual purposes: looking at objects to perceive them and looki…
- Middleware
- Software that acts as an intermediary layer between different applications, services, or components, enabling them to communicate and share data despite being built with different technologies, protoc…
- Mixed-Initiative Design (Mixed-Initiative Interaction)
- An interaction design approach in which both the system and the user can take initiative in directing the flow of interaction, rather than one party being entirely in control. In accessibility context…
- Mobile Health Game (mHealth Game, Health Gamification App)
- A mobile application that uses game mechanics and play-based interaction to support health management behaviors such as medication adherence, physical activity, dietary choices, and health monitoring.…
- Mobile Health Technology (mHealth, Mobile Health, MHT)
- The use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to deliver health services, information, and interventions. In accessibility contexts, mobile health technology is significant because smartph…