Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- Mobile Makerspace (Maker Van, Makerspace on Wheels, Mobile Maker Lab)
- A portable makerspace housed in a vehicle or transportable unit that brings making tools, materials, and activities to different locations rather than requiring participants to travel to a fixed facil…
- Mobile OCR (Smartphone OCR, Camera-based OCR)
- Optical character recognition performed using a smartphone or tablet camera rather than a traditional flatbed scanner. Mobile OCR apps like KNFB Reader, Prizmo, and Text Detective enable blind and vis…
- Modifier Key (Modifier Keys)
- A key on a keyboard that modifies the action of another key when both are pressed simultaneously, such as Shift, Control (Ctrl), Alt, Option, or Command. Modifier keys present a significant accessibil…
- 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…
- Monocular (Handheld Monocular, Bioptic Telescope)
- A small, handheld or head-mounted telescope used by people with low vision to magnify distant objects. Monoculars are commonly used in educational settings to view chalkboards, whiteboards, and projec…
- Motion Capture (MoCap, Movement Tracking)
- Technology that records the movements of people or objects, typically using cameras, sensors, or computer vision, and translates them into digital data for animation or analysis. In sign language appl…
- Motion Gaming (Motion-Based Gaming, Gesture-Based Gaming)
- Video games that use body movements as input, typically through motion-sensing controllers (Nintendo Wii) or depth cameras (Microsoft Kinect) rather than traditional button-based controllers. Motion g…
- Motion Impairment (Motor Impairment, Physical Impairment, Mobility Impairment)
- A condition that limits a person's ability to control voluntary physical movement, affecting fine or gross motor skills, strength, coordination, or range of motion. Motion impairments may result from …
- Motion Sensor (Motion Detection, Gesture Sensor)
- A device that detects physical movement in its environment, often by tracking body position, joint angles, or gestures. In accessibility and assistive technology, motion sensors enable touchless inter…
- Motion-Based AAC (Physical Expressive AAC, Expressive Sidekick)
- An emerging form of augmentative and alternative communication that uses physical movement of objects or robotic devices to convey nonverbal communicative intent during conversations. Unlike tradition…
- Motor Accessibility (Physical Accessibility, Motor Impairment Accessibility)
- Motor accessibility refers to the design of digital systems and interfaces to be operable by people with physical disabilities affecting movement, strength, coordination, or fine motor control. Releva…
- Motor Imagery (MI, Mental Practice, Imagined Movement)
- The mental rehearsal or imagination of physical movement without actual motor execution. In brain-computer interfaces, motor imagery typically involves imagining left-hand or right-hand movements, whi…
- Movement Sonification (Motion Sonification)
- The practice of mapping qualities of physical movement - such as speed, direction, duration, or weight - to non-verbal sound cues so that movement can be perceived auditorily. In accessibility context…
- Multi-Sensory Feedback (Multimodal Feedback, Cross-Modal Feedback)
- The simultaneous or coordinated use of multiple sensory channels—such as audio, haptic, visual, and sometimes olfactory or thermal—to convey information to a user. Multi-sensory feedback is a key acce…
- Multimodal (Multimodal Interaction, Multimodal Interface)
- Relating to communication or interaction that uses multiple sensory channels or modes simultaneously, such as vision, hearing, touch, and speech. In accessibility, multimodal approaches are essential …
- Multimodal Alert System (Multi-Sensory Alert, Multimodal Notification)
- A notification system that communicates alerts through multiple sensory channels simultaneously, such as combining audio, visual, and haptic signals. Multimodal alert systems are critical for accessib…
- Multimodal Assistive Technology (MAT, Multimodal AT)
- Assistive technology that combines multiple sensory channels — such as audio, vibrotactile (vibration), visual, and tactile feedback — to convey information and enable interaction. By distributing inf…
- Multimodal Communication (Multi-Modal Communication)
- The use of multiple channels and resources simultaneously during interaction, including speech, gesture, gaze, facial expression, body movement, writing, drawing, and physical artifacts. All human com…
- Multimodal Feedback (Multi-Sensory Feedback)
- The simultaneous or coordinated use of multiple sensory channels — such as auditory, tactile, and visual — to convey information to a user. In accessibility, multimodal feedback is essential for creat…
- Multimodal Instruction (Multimodal Feedback, Multimodal Learning)
- An instructional approach that combines two or more sensory modalities - such as verbal narration, non-verbal sound, haptic or tactile feedback, and visual demonstration - to convey information. In ac…