Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
94 results found in navigation.
- Localization (Position Estimation, Indoor Localization, User Localization)
- Localization is the process of determining a user's position within an environment, typically using a combination of sensors such as GPS, inertial measurement units, BLE beacons, Wi-Fi signals, or com…
- Location-Based Service (LBS, Location-Based Services)
- A software application or platform that uses geographic position data — from GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth beacons, or other localization technologies — to deliver context-aware information or functionality t…
- Mental Map (Cognitive Map, Mental Model of Space)
- An internal cognitive representation of a physical environment, including spatial relationships, landmarks, routes, and distances. For people with blindness or visual impairments, building a mental ma…
- Microsoft Soundscape (Soundscape)
- Microsoft Soundscape was an accessible navigation app developed by Microsoft Research that used spatialized 3D audio to help blind and low-vision users build awareness of their surroundings. Rather th…
- NFC Tag (Near Field Communication Tag, NFC)
- An NFC (Near Field Communication) tag is a small, unpowered chip that can transmit data to a compatible smartphone or device when held within a few centimeters. In accessibility contexts, NFC tags are…
- NavCog (Navigational Cognitive Assistant)
- A Bluetooth beacon-based navigation system developed at Carnegie Mellon University that provides indoor turn-by-turn navigation assistance and environmental information to blind and visually impaired …
- Navigation
- The task of moving through an environment to reach a destination, encompassing route planning, mode selection, real-time decision-making, and responding to obstacles. In accessibility research, naviga…
- Non-Visual Exploration (Non-Visual Interaction, Non-Visual Scanning)
- The process by which blind or visually impaired people gather information about their physical environment, documents, or interfaces without relying on sight. Non-visual exploration combines multiple …
- 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 Map (2D occupancy grid, Grid map)
- A representation of an environment as a grid of cells, where each cell is labelled as walkable (free space), non-walkable (obstacle or wall), or unknown. Occupancy grid maps are a standard data struct…
- OpenStreetMap (OSM)
- A free, collaborative, open-source mapping project that provides geographic data including roads, buildings, and points of interest, contributed and maintained by volunteers worldwide. OpenStreetMap i…
- Over-rotation (Rotation overshoot, Turn overshoot)
- The phenomenon where a person rotates beyond a target heading angle when following a turn instruction, typically caused by the delay between perceiving a stop signal and physically halting the rotatio…
- 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…
- Particle Filtering (Sequential Monte Carlo, Particle Filter)
- Particle filtering is a probabilistic localization technique that estimates a user's position by maintaining a cloud of weighted "particles," each representing a possible location. As new sensor data …
- Particle filter (Sequential Monte Carlo, Monte Carlo localization)
- A probabilistic algorithm that estimates a user's position by maintaining a set of weighted hypothetical locations (particles) and updating them based on sensor observations such as Bluetooth beacon s…
- Passive Accessibility Sensing (Automatic Barrier Detection, Breadcrumb Sensing)
- A data collection approach that uses smartphone sensors (GPS, accelerometers, gyroscopes) to automatically detect potential accessibility barriers in the physical environment without requiring active …
- Passive notification (Automatic notification, Push notification)
- Information delivered to a user automatically without requiring active input, triggered by context such as location, time, or system state. In assistive navigation for people with visual impairments, …
- Path Integration
- A cognitive navigation process in which a person tracks their position relative to a starting point by continuously monitoring their movements — including direction changes, distance traveled, and tur…
- Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR, Inertial Navigation)
- A localization technique that estimates a pedestrian's position by tracking their movement from a known starting point using inertial sensors (accelerometers and gyroscopes) found in smartphones. The …