Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
19 results found in input devices.
- Buddy Button
- A widely used commercial assistive technology switch manufactured by AbleNet, designed for single-switch access to computers, communication devices, and adapted toys. Buddy Buttons are large, colorful…
- Capacitive Touch (Capacitive Sensing, Capacitive Touch Sensing)
- A touch detection technology that works by measuring changes in electrical capacitance when a conductive object, such as a human finger, comes near or contacts an electrode surface. The finger and ele…
- Data Glove (digital glove, sensor glove, wired glove)
- A wearable input device equipped with sensors to capture hand and finger movements, positions, and orientations. Data gloves use technologies like gyroscopes, accelerometers, flex sensors, or fiber op…
- EMG Switch (Electromyography Switch, Muscle Signal Switch)
- An assistive technology switch that detects electrical signals produced by muscle contractions (electromyography) to generate a switch activation. EMG switches can detect even very small muscle moveme…
- Graphic Input Device (Drawing Input Device, Graphic Tablet)
- A hardware device used to input and manipulate visual graphics on a computer, including digital drawing pads (digitizer tablets), styluses, mice, trackballs, touchscreens, and specialized assistive de…
- Haptic Pointing Device (Force Feedback Mouse, Haptic Mouse, Force Feedback Pointing Device)
- An input device that combines the pointing functionality of a mouse or stylus with the ability to generate physical forces that the user can feel through their hand. Unlike a standard mouse that provi…
- Head Pointer (Head Mouse, Head Tracking Device)
- An assistive technology input device that translates head movements into cursor movements on screen, allowing people who cannot use their hands or arms to control a computer. Head pointers can be phys…
- Head Wand (Head Pointer, Head Stick, Mouth Stick)
- A head wand is an assistive input device consisting of a pointer attached to a headband or held in the mouth, allowing people with limited or no hand and arm function to operate a keyboard, touchscree…
- Human Interface Device (HID, Input Device, Peripheral)
- Any device used to facilitate interaction between a human and a computer, including keyboards, mice, trackballs, joysticks, touchscreens, switches, and eye-tracking systems. The USB HID standard defin…
- Imagined Device (Imaginary Device, Imagined Input Device)
- An input device that exists only in the user's imagination, with no physical form, operated through gestures that draw on mental models of a real counterpart such as a smartphone, remote control, or j…
- Joystick (Adaptive Joystick)
- A joystick is an input device with a lever that tilts in multiple directions to control cursor movement on screen, used as an alternative pointing device by people with motor impairments who have diff…
- 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…
- On-Screen Keyboard (Virtual Keyboard, Software Keyboard, OSK)
- A software application that displays a visual representation of a keyboard on the computer screen, allowing users to type by selecting keys with a pointing device, head tracker, eye gaze system, or sw…
- Single Switch (Single Switch Access, One Switch)
- An assistive technology input device that provides a single binary action — on or off — enabling people with severe motor impairments to interact with computers and communication devices. Switches can…
- Stylus (Digital Pen, Active Pen)
- A pen-shaped input device used to interact with touchscreens, tablets, and other digitizer surfaces. Unlike finger touch, styluses provide a smaller contact point for precise selection, and active sty…
- Touch Sensor (Touch-Sensitive Sensor, Tactile Sensor)
- An electronic component that detects physical contact or proximity of a finger or object on a surface. Touch sensors are used in accessible devices to enable direct tactile interaction, allowing blind…
- Touchscreen (Touch Screen, Touch Display)
- An input and display device that detects touch gestures directly on its surface, allowing users to interact with content by tapping, swiping, pinching, or dragging. While touchscreens enable intuitive…
- Trackball
- A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball housed in a stationary socket that the user rotates to move the on-screen cursor, with buttons nearby for clicking. Unlike a mouse, a trackball do…
- VR Controllers (Virtual Reality Controllers, Motion Controllers)
- Handheld input devices used to interact with virtual reality environments, typically requiring users to grip, hold, and manipulate buttons, triggers, and joysticks. Standard VR controllers present sig…