Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
29 results found in blindness and low vision.
- Palm Drawing (Palm Mapping, Palm Tracing)
- A technique used by Orientation and Mobility (O&M) specialists to teach routes to people who are blind or have low vision. The instructor holds the person's palm face up and traces the path of a route…
- Reading Assistant (Reading Aid, Reading Machine)
- An assistive technology device or software application that helps people with visual impairments or reading disabilities access printed or displayed text. Reading assistants may use optical character …
- Risk-Free Exploration (Safe Exploration)
- Risk-free exploration is a design principle for making touchscreen interfaces accessible to blind users by enabling them to explore the screen surface without accidentally triggering interface actions…
- Sensory Compensation (Cross-Modal Plasticity, Sensory Substitution)
- The phenomenon whereby the loss of one sense leads to enhanced abilities in remaining senses, driven by neuro-plasticity — the brain's capacity to reorganise its neural pathways. Research shows that b…
- Sound Localization (Auditory Localization)
- The ability to determine the direction and distance of a sound source using auditory cues such as differences in timing and intensity between the two ears. Blind and visually impaired people often dev…
- Spatial Audio (3D Audio, Spatialised Sound, Binaural Audio)
- Audio technology that creates the perception of sound coming from specific locations in three-dimensional space around the listener, using techniques such as head-related transfer functions (HRTFs), b…
- Tactile Ideation (Tactile Design Workshop, Non-Visual Ideation)
- A design methodology adapted for people with visual disabilities that replaces visual ideation techniques (such as sketching, post-it notes, and ideation cards) with tactile and auditory alternatives.…
- Tactile Paving (Tactile Ground Surface Indicators, TGSI, Detectable Warning Surface, Truncated Domes)
- A system of textured ground surface indicators installed on footpaths, train platforms, and building floors to assist pedestrians who are blind or have low vision with navigation and hazard detection.…
- Voice Interface (Speech Interface, Voice User Interface, VUI, Conversational Interface)
- An interface that allows users to interact with a system using spoken natural language commands rather than keyboard, mouse, or touch input. Voice interfaces range from simple command-and-control syst…