Glossary

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Capacitive Touchscreen(also: Capacitive Touch Display, Cap Touch)

A capacitive touchscreen is a type of display that detects touch input by sensing changes in the electrical field caused by the conductivity of a human finger or conductive stylus. Unlike resistive touchscreens that require physical pressure, capacitive screens respond to the…

Click-on-Lift(also: Lift-off Activation, Release Activation)

An interaction technique where a touch target is activated only when the user lifts their finger from the screen while still within the target area, rather than registering the action at the point of initial contact. This approach is particularly beneficial for users with hand…

Gesture Typing(also: Swipe Typing, Trace Typing, Glide Typing)

A text entry method on touchscreen devices where the user enters a word by continuously gliding their finger from letter to letter on a virtual keyboard without lifting it, rather than tapping each key individually. The continuous trace is interpreted by a statistical decoder…

Multitouch Surface(also: Multi-Touch Interface, Multitouch Interface, MTS)

A multitouch surface is an input device that uses optical or capacitive sensors to detect and track multiple simultaneous finger contacts on a flat surface. Unlike conventional touchpads that rely on a single finger for functionality, multitouch surfaces can recognize complex…

Occlusion(also: Hand Occlusion, Finger Occlusion, Visual Occlusion)

In the context of touchscreen and pen-based interaction, occlusion refers to the user's hand or finger blocking their view of content on the screen while interacting with it. Occlusion is a significant accessibility barrier, particularly for older adults and users with motor…

Risk-Free Exploration(also: 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. On standard capacitive touchscreens, any finger contact can activate buttons,…

Surface Haptics(also: Surface Haptic Technology)

A branch of haptic technology that creates tactile sensations directly on a flat surface, such as a touchscreen, by modulating the friction between a fingertip and the display. Unlike conventional vibration motors that shake the entire device, surface haptics produces localised…

Touch Target(also: Tap Target, Hit Area, Target Size)

A touch target is the area on a touchscreen interface that responds to a user's tap or touch input. Accessibility guidelines recommend minimum touch target sizes to ensure that people with motor impairments, limited dexterity, or larger fingers can reliably activate interactive…

Touchscreen Accessibility(also: Touch Interface Accessibility)

Touchscreen accessibility refers to the design principles, techniques, and assistive technologies that make touchscreen devices usable by people with disabilities. This includes screen reader gestures (such as VoiceOver on iOS and TalkBack on Android), which allow blind users to…

Variable Friction(also: Variable Friction Display, Friction Modulation)

A surface haptics technique that dynamically adjusts the friction between a user's fingertip and a touchscreen surface to create the sensation of different textures. Typically achieved through ultrasonic vibration that creates a thin cushion of air beneath the fingertip,…

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