Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
840 results found in assistive technology.
- Autism Technology (Autism Tech, ASD Technology)
- Technologies specifically designed for, marketed to, or used by autistic individuals and their support networks. Autism technology spans a wide range including digital therapy platforms, educational a…
- Auto-Personalization (Automatic Personalization, Preference Portability)
- The ability to automatically configure a digital device's interface, accessibility settings, and assistive technology software to match an individual user's needs and preferences without requiring the…
- Automatic Sign Language Processing (ASLP, Sign Language Processing)
- An umbrella term encompassing three major areas of technology for sign language: automatic sign language generation (ASLG, creating sign language output from text or speech), automatic sign language r…
- Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
- The computational technology and algorithms that automatically convert spoken audio into text transcriptions. ASR systems use acoustic models, language models, and increasingly deep learning approache…
- Automatic speech recognition (ASR, Speech-to-text, Voice recognition)
- Technology that converts spoken language into text using machine learning and signal processing. ASR powers live captioning, voice assistants, and dictation software, making it a key accessibility tec…
- Autonomous Navigation Robot (Autonomous guide robot, Self-navigating robot)
- A mobile robot that plans and executes its own path through an environment to deliver a user or payload to a chosen destination, using onboard sensors (LiDAR, cameras, IMU) and a map for localisation,…
- Avatar Robot (Robot Avatar, Telepresence Avatar)
- A physical robot that acts as a remote proxy for a human operator, enabling them to interact with a distant environment through vision, audio, and often manipulation or movement. Avatar robots extend …
- BETSIE (BBC Education Text to Speech Internet Enhancer)
- BETSIE (BBC Education Text to Speech Internet Enhancer) was an early web accessibility tool developed by the BBC as a CGI Perl script that produced text-only versions of web pages optimized for users …
- BLE Beacon (Bluetooth Low Energy Beacon, iBeacon, Bluetooth Beacon)
- A BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) beacon is a small wireless transmitter that broadcasts a signal at regular intervals, which can be detected by nearby smartphones to determine a user's indoor location. In…
- Background Mode
- A privacy technique in visual assistance technologies that obfuscates a specific private object while preserving all other elements in the image or video. For example, a user might select a pill bottl…
- Bayesian Network (Bayes Network, Belief Network, Probabilistic Graphical Model)
- A statistical model that represents probabilistic relationships among variables using a directed graph structure. In accessibility and assistive technology applications, Bayesian networks are used for…
- Be My AI
- An AI-powered feature within the Be My Eyes app that uses GPT-4o to provide on-demand image descriptions for blind and low vision users. Users can take a photo or upload an image and receive a detaile…
- Be My Eyes
- A mobile application that connects blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers or AI-powered visual assistance for help with visual tasks. Originally launched in 2015 as a crowdsourced human-to…
- Bespoke Assistive Technology (Bespoke AT, Custom Assistive Technology)
- Assistive technology that is designed and built from scratch to meet the unique requirements of a specific individual, as opposed to adapting or modifying existing products. Bespoke AT is distinguishe…
- Binaural Beats
- Binaural beats are an auditory phenomenon that occurs when two tones of slightly different frequencies are played simultaneously in separate ears through headphones, creating a perceived third tone wh…
- Binaural audio (Binaural sound, Binaural recording, 3D audio)
- An audio reproduction method that uses two channels to create a three-dimensional sound experience when listened to through headphones. Binaural recordings capture or simulate the way human ears natur…
- Biofeedback
- A therapeutic technique in which individuals are presented with real-time measurements of their physiological variables — such as heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, muscle tension, or brain waves — …
- Biosensor (Physiological Sensor, Biometric Sensor)
- A device that detects and measures biological or physiological signals from the body, such as heart rate, skin conductance, temperature, or movement. Wearable biosensors are increasingly used in acces…
- Bite Switch (Bite Button, Mouth Switch)
- An assistive input device consisting of a small button held in the mouth and activated by biting down on it, used by people with severe motor impairments who cannot operate hand-held controllers or sw…
- Blindness and Low Vision (BLV, visual impairment, vision impairment)
- Blindness and low vision (BLV) collectively describes the spectrum of significant visual impairment ranging from complete absence of sight to partial sight loss that cannot be fully corrected with sta…