Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
94 results found in navigation.
- Pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR, Inertial navigation, Step-and-heading)
- A localization technique that estimates a person's position by counting their steps (to determine distance) and detecting turns (to determine heading changes) from a known starting point, using inerti…
- Physical Crowdsourcing (Spatial Crowdsourcing, Physical World Crowdsourcing)
- A form of crowdsourcing in which tasks require participants to perform actions in the physical world rather than completing digital tasks online. In an accessibility context, physical crowdsourcing ha…
- Point of Interest (POI)
- A point of interest (POI) is a specific location or feature in a physical environment that is relevant to a user's navigation or understanding of their surroundings. In accessible wayfinding systems f…
- Points of interest (POI, Landmarks)
- Specific locations in the environment that are useful or relevant to a user, such as shops, restaurants, transit stops, public buildings, and other named places. In accessible navigation for people wi…
- Proximity Detection (Proximity Sensing, Proximity-Based Localization)
- A method of determining a user's approximate location by measuring their closeness to known reference points, such as BLE beacons or Wi-Fi access points, based on signal strength. In accessible indoor…
- Pull Notification (On-Demand Notification, User-Initiated Notification)
- A notification or information delivery model where content is provided only when explicitly requested by the user, in contrast to push notifications which are delivered automatically. In assistive nav…
- RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator, Received Signal Strength Index)
- A measurement of the power level of a radio signal received by a device, commonly used in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi based indoor positioning systems. In accessible indoor navigation, RSSI readings from BLE …
- Semantic Taxonomy (Environmental Semantic Taxonomy)
- A structured classification system that organizes and labels environmental features and attributes using standardized vocabulary, enabling consistent description and retrieval of information about phy…
- Semantic feature (Environmental feature, Landmark annotation)
- A meaningful environmental attribute associated with a specific location in a navigation system, such as a doorway, floor surface change, point of interest, or tactile ground indicator. In accessible …
- Shared Movement (Linked Locomotion, Guided Movement)
- A virtual reality interaction technique that allows one user to move through a virtual environment by attaching to or following another user's avatar, inspired by the physical sighted guide technique …
- Shorelining (Trailing)
- An orientation and mobility technique in which a person with a visual impairment follows a consistent surface edge — such as a wall, curb, edge of a sidewalk, or other contrasting surface — to maintai…
- Sighted Memory (Visual Memory, Sighted Recall)
- A mental representation of a physical environment developed through past visual experience, used by people who lose their sight later in life to navigate and understand spaces they previously knew vis…
- Sign Recognition (Indoor sign recognition, Signage recognition)
- The task of automatically detecting, reading, and interpreting signs in an environment — for accessibility purposes, typically indoor directional signs (arrows pointing to corridors or facilities) and…
- Situation Awareness (SA, Situational Awareness)
- The perception and understanding of one's current environment, including the identification of relevant elements, comprehension of their meaning, and projection of their future status. In accessibilit…
- Skip Link (Skip Navigation Link, Skip Nav, Bypass Block)
- A hidden or visible hyperlink placed at the beginning of a web page that allows keyboard and screen reader users to jump directly to the main content, bypassing repeated navigation elements. Skip link…
- Skip Navigation (Skip Link, Skip Nav, Bypass Block)
- A mechanism, typically an in-page anchor link placed at the very beginning of a web page, that allows keyboard and screen reader users to bypass repetitive content such as navigation menus and jump di…
- Smart Cane (Electronic Cane, Intelligent Cane)
- An enhanced version of the traditional white cane that incorporates electronic sensors — typically ultrasonic or infrared — to detect obstacles beyond the range of physical contact, providing haptic o…
- Snap Turn (Snap Rotation, Comfort Turn)
- A virtual reality locomotion technique that rotates the user's viewpoint in discrete angular increments rather than continuous smooth rotation. Typically triggered by a thumbstick or controller input,…
- Spatial Awareness (Spatial Cognition, Environmental Awareness)
- The understanding of one's surrounding environment and one's own position within it. In accessibility contexts, spatial awareness encompasses multiple dimensions: the scale and shape of an area, one's…
- Spatial cognition (Spatial awareness, Cognitive mapping)
- The mental processes involved in perceiving, storing, recalling, and using information about spatial environments — including the locations of objects, distances between them, routes through spaces, a…