Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- Navigation Robot (Guide Robot, Autonomous Navigation Robot)
- A robotic system designed to guide users through physical spaces, providing wayfinding assistance and contextual information. In museum contexts, navigation robots can lead visually impaired visitors …
- Navilens
- A navigation and information system that uses specially designed colorful QR-like codes that can be detected by a smartphone camera from long distances and wide angles, without requiring precise aimin…
- Near-Miss Detection (Near-Miss Interaction)
- A strategy for identifying when a user almost but not quite succeeds at a device interaction, suggesting they might benefit from an accessibility accommodation. For example, if a user repeatedly attem…
- Nemeth Braille Code (Nemeth Code, Nemeth Mathematics Braille)
- A system of Braille encoding developed by Abraham Nemeth in 1946 for representing mathematical and scientific notation, widely used in the United States and some other English-speaking countries. The …
- Non-Visual Interaction (Non-Visual Access, Non-Visual Interface)
- Methods of interacting with computer systems and digital content without relying on visual display. Non-visual interaction encompasses screen reader output, speech interfaces, keyboard navigation with…
- Non-Visual Makeup (Blind Makeup Application, Accessible Makeup)
- The practice and process of applying cosmetics without relying on visual feedback, as performed by people who are blind or have low vision. Non-visual makeup involves embodied, tactile-first strategie…
- Non-Visual Navigation (Eyes-Free Navigation, Non-Visual Wayfinding)
- Strategies and technologies that enable people who are blind or have low vision to navigate physical environments without relying on visual information. Non-visual navigation uses a combination of tac…
- Non-Visual Reference Database (Non-Visual Cooking Database)
- A proposed structured collection that maps common visual descriptions used in cooking and other domains to their non-visual equivalents using texture, sound, smell, time, and temperature descriptors. …
- Non-Visual Web Access (Non-Visual Browsing, Nonvisual Web Access)
- The use of the web without relying on visual display, typically through screen readers, voice browsers, or refreshable braille displays that convert web content into speech or tactile output. Non-visu…
- Non-Visual Web Browser (Self-Voicing Browser, Audio Web Browser, Talking Browser)
- A web browser specifically designed for users who cannot see the screen, providing audio-based or haptic interfaces for navigating and interacting with web content. Unlike standard screen readers that…
- Nonvisual Accessibility (Non-Visual Access)
- Nonvisual accessibility refers to approaches, strategies, and technologies that enable people who are blind or have low vision to access information and interact with digital and physical environments…
- OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
- Technology that converts images of text into machine-readable text. In accessibility contexts, OCR is used by visual assistance technologies and screen readers to read printed text from photos, signs,…
- OSARA (Open Source Accessibility for the REAPER Application)
- An open-source extension for the REAPER digital audio workstation that significantly improves its accessibility for screen reader users. OSARA adds enhanced spoken feedback for track and item properti…
- Object Status Recognition (Object State Recognition, Object Transformation Detection)
- The computer vision task of identifying the current condition or transformation state of objects, such as whether an ingredient is raw, chopped, sauteed, or blended. Object status recognition goes bey…
- Obstacle Avoidance (Obstacle Detection)
- The ability to detect and navigate around physical barriers in one's path, a critical mobility skill for blind and visually impaired people. Traditional obstacle avoidance relies on long cane techniqu…
- Obstacle Detection (Obstacle Avoidance)
- Technology or techniques that identify physical barriers in a person's path and alert them in time to take corrective action. For people who are blind or visually impaired, obstacle detection systems …
- Occupancy Grid (Occupancy Map, Mental Occupancy Grid)
- A spatial representation that divides an environment into a grid of cells, each indicating whether that location is occupied by an object, free space, or unknown. In accessibility and assistive techno…
- Occupational therapy (OT)
- A healthcare profession focused on enabling people to participate in meaningful daily activities (occupations) by addressing physical, cognitive, sensory, and environmental barriers. Occupational ther…
- Off-the-Shelf Technology (OTS, Commercial Off-the-Shelf, COTS)
- Commercially available products designed for the general consumer market without customization for specific user groups. In accessibility research, off-the-shelf technology refers to mainstream device…
- Omnidirectional Camera (360-Degree Camera, 360 Camera, Panoramic Camera)
- A camera equipped with multiple wide-angle or fish-eye lenses that captures a complete 360-degree view of its surroundings in a single shot. The resulting equirectangular image can be projected into c…