Glossary

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Aim Assist(also: Aim Assistance, Auto-Aim, Bullet Magnetism)

A category of input-assistance features in shooter games that help a player acquire or track targets, for example by enlarging the effective cursor area, bending projectile paths toward enemies, or slowing the aim reticle when it is near a target. Aim assist is widely used to…

Alternative Input Device(also: Alternative Input, Adapted Input, Alternative Access)

Any computer input device used in place of a standard keyboard and mouse by people who cannot operate conventional input hardware due to physical, motor, or other disabilities. Alternative input devices include head controls, eye-gaze systems, sip-and-puff switches, single…

Alternative Input Method(also: Alternative Input, Non-Standard Input)

Any method of providing input to a computer or device that differs from the conventional keyboard, mouse, and touchscreen interfaces. Alternative input methods are essential for people with motor, sensory, or cognitive disabilities who cannot use standard input devices…

Biosignal Interface(also: Physiological Interface, Biometric Input)

An input interface that detects and interprets biological signals from the human body — such as muscle contractions (EMG), brain electrical activity (EEG), eye movements (EOG), or galvanic skin response — to generate computer commands. Biosignal interfaces are particularly…

Breath Control(also: Sip-and-Puff Control, Pneumatic Input)

An assistive technology input method that uses breath pressure — blowing or sipping through a sensor — to control a computer, device, or instrument. Breath control is particularly valuable for individuals with severe motor disabilities who retain respiratory function, such as…

Breathing Input(also: Breath-based Input, Puff Input)

An alternative computer input method that uses deliberate breath actions — such as puffing, blowing, or inhaling — detected by a microphone or pressure sensor as control signals for navigating interfaces and selecting items. Breathing input is designed for people with severe…

Calibration-Free Interface(also: Zero-Shot Interface, Plug-and-Play Interface, Cross-User Model)

An input system that works for a new user without any per-user training or calibration data, typically by relying on models trained on large multi-user datasets that capture enough physiological and behavioural variation to generalise. Voice assistants and mixed-reality hand…

Camera Mouse(also: Head-Controlled Mouse Pointer, Head Tracking Mouse)

A computer-vision-based mouse-replacement system that tracks a user's head motion through a standard webcam to control the mouse pointer on screen. Developed at Boston University by Margrit Betke and James Gips, Camera Mouse is freely available and enables people with severe…

Chairable Technology(also: Chairable Input, Chairable Devices)

Input devices and interactive technologies designed to integrate with the form of a wheelchair, analogous to how wearable technology fits with an individual's clothing. Chairable technology recognises that power wheelchair users spend most of their waking hours in their chairs…

Chording Keyboard(also: Chord Keyboard, Chorded Keyboard, Chording Input)

A text input device that generates characters by pressing multiple keys or moving multiple inputs simultaneously rather than pressing individual keys sequentially as on a standard keyboard. Similar to how piano chords combine multiple notes, each character is produced by a…

Continuous Input(also: Continuous Control, Analog Input)

Continuous input is any interaction technique in which the user varies a parameter smoothly along a range rather than selecting from a set of discrete options — adjusting a slider, dragging a brush, turning a dial, holding a gesture, or modulating vocal loudness. Continuous…

Continuous Specification(also: Continuous Positioning, Continuous Cursor Movement)

In cursor control interfaces, a positioning method where the cursor moves steadily in a given direction at a controlled rate until the user signals it to stop. This approach allows precise positioning because the user can halt movement at exactly the desired location, but it is…

Continuous Voice Control(also: Continuous Vocal Control, Proportional Voice Control)

A voice interaction paradigm in which vocal parameters such as pitch, loudness, vowel quality, and timbre are used to provide smooth, proportional, real-time control of a system, as opposed to discrete voice commands that trigger specific actions. Continuous voice control is…

Discrete Specification(also: Discrete Positioning, Grid-Based Positioning)

In cursor control interfaces, a positioning method where the user selects from a finite set of predefined locations to move the cursor to an approximate position quickly. Examples include grid-based systems where the screen is divided into numbered cells, or ghost cursor systems…

Dragon NaturallySpeaking(also: Dragon Dictation, Dragon Speech Recognition, Nuance Dragon)

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a commercial speech recognition software product, originally developed by Dragon Systems and later acquired by Nuance Communications (now part of Microsoft). It converts spoken words into text and computer commands, enabling hands-free computer…

DragonDictate(also: Dragon Dictate)

An early discrete speech recognition system developed by Dragon Systems that allowed users to control computers and dictate text by speaking one word at a time with brief pauses between words. Released in the early 1990s, DragonDictate was one of the first commercially viable…

Dwell-Based Selection(also: Dwell Selection, Dwell Time Selection)

An interaction technique used in eye-gaze and head-tracking interfaces in which holding the cursor over a target for a fixed duration (the 'dwell time', typically 300-1000 ms) triggers a selection, replacing the click action that a mouse user would perform. Dwell-based selection…

Electrooculogram(also: EOG, Electrooculography)

The electrooculogram (EOG) is a technique for measuring the electrical potential difference between the front and back of the eye using surface electrodes placed around the eyes. This corneal-retinal potential (CRP) varies linearly with eye rotation along both horizontal and…

Ergonomic Keyboard(also: Ergonomic Input Device)

A keyboard designed to reduce physical stress, strain, and injury risk during typing by conforming to the natural posture and biomechanics of the hands, wrists, and arms. Ergonomic keyboard designs include split keyboards (angled halves to reduce ulnar deviation), tented…

Facial Gesture Recognition(also: Face Tracking, Facial Expression Recognition)

Technology that uses cameras and computer vision algorithms to detect and interpret facial movements and expressions in real time. For accessibility, facial gestures such as opening the mouth, raising eyebrows, smiling, or nose movements can be mapped to computer commands,…

Gaze Typing(also: Eye Typing, Gaze-Based Text Entry, Eye-Typing)

A text input method that uses eye tracking technology to allow users to type by looking at keys on a virtual on-screen keyboard. The most common technique is dwell-based selection, where the user fixates on a letter for a set duration (typically 300-1000 milliseconds) to select…

Gestural Interaction(also: Gesture-Based Interaction)

A mode of human-computer interaction in which users control systems through movements of the body — hands, arms, head, eyes, or whole body — captured by sensors such as accelerometers, cameras, IMUs, or depth sensors. Gestural interaction supports hands-free or low-force control…

Ghost Cursor(also: Phantom Cursor, Proxy Cursor)

A visual indicator displayed on screen that shows a potential cursor position, used in speech-based and alternative cursor movement systems. Multiple ghost cursors can be displayed simultaneously, typically aligned in a row or column, allowing users to quickly specify an…

Grid-Based Navigation(also: Grid Navigation, Grid Cursor Control)

A speech-controlled cursor positioning technique that divides the screen into numbered regions, allowing users to select progressively smaller areas by speaking numbers until the cursor reaches the target location. This alternative input method enables people with upper-body…

Gross Motor Movement(also: Gross Motor Skills, Gross Motor Control)

Large body movements involving the major muscle groups of the arms, legs, and torso, as opposed to fine motor movements that require precise control of small muscles in the fingers and hands. In assistive technology, the distinction between gross and fine motor abilities is…

Hands-Free Interface(also: Hands-Free Computing, Hands-Free Input)

A hands-free interface is a computer interaction system that does not require the use of hands or fingers, enabling users to control software through alternative input channels such as head movements, eye gaze, voice commands, foot pedals, or breath-controlled switches. These…

Haptic Input(also: Haptic Interaction, Touch Input)

Haptic input refers to interaction methods that use the sense of touch to communicate information between a user and a computer system. This includes devices such as data gloves, force-feedback controllers, and touch-sensitive surfaces that detect hand movements, gestures, and…

Head Control(also: Head-Controlled Interface, Head Mouse, Head Pointer)

An alternative computer input device that translates head movements into cursor movements on screen, enabling people who cannot use their hands or arms to operate a computer. Head control systems typically use ultrasonic sensors, infrared tracking, or camera-based systems to…

Head Pointer(also: 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 physical devices (a stick or stylus mounted on a headband used to press keys) or…

Head Pointing(also: Head-Controlled Pointing, Head Mouse)

Head pointing is an alternative input method that maps head movements to cursor position on a computer screen, enabling hands-free mouse control. The user moves their head to direct the cursor, with the system translating head orientation or position into screen coordinates.…

Head Wand(also: 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, touchscreen, or other controls using head movements. Head wands are commonly used by…

Head-based Pointing(also: Head Tracking, Head Mouse, Head-controlled Input)

An alternative input method that allows users to control an on-screen cursor by moving their head, typically tracked via a camera, infrared sensor, or inertial measurement unit. Head-based pointing is particularly valuable for people with motor impairments who cannot use…

HeadMaster(also: HeadMaster Plus)

An early head-pointing assistive technology device developed by Prentke Romich Company that translates head movements into mouse cursor movements on screen. The HeadMaster uses an ultrasonic sensor worn on the head (typically mounted on a headband or glasses) to track head…

Humming Interface(also: Control-by-Humming, Hum-Based Interface)

A human-computer interaction method that uses hummed pitch patterns as control signals for operating devices. In a humming interface, a pitch detection algorithm analyses the user's hummed input, segments it into discrete notes based on pitch contour (rising, falling, or flat),…

Isotonic Joystick(also: Displacement Joystick, Free-Moving Joystick)

An isotonic joystick is a type of joystick input device that moves freely in response to applied force and returns to a centre position when released. Unlike isometric (force-sensing) joysticks that remain stationary and measure the pressure applied, isotonic joysticks…

Joystick(also: 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 difficulty using a standard mouse. Adaptive joysticks come in various forms — some…

Keypad(also: Numeric Keypad, Phone Keypad, Small Keypad)

A keypad is a compact input device with a small number of keys, typically arranged in a 3x4 grid (phone keypads) or other constrained layouts. In accessibility contexts, keypads are relevant both as the *only* viable input device for some users — small physical keypads are…

MIDI Controller(also: MIDI Input Device)

A hardware device that generates MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) messages to control music software or sound modules without being a traditional musical instrument. MIDI controllers include keyboards, drum pads, wind controllers, joysticks, and purpose-built…

Makey Makey

A small electronic invention kit that uses alligator clips to connect everyday conductive objects — fruit, foil, playdough, drawn pencil lines — to a computer, which sees them as keyboard presses or mouse clicks. Created by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum at the MIT Media Lab,…

Mapping by Demonstration

A personalisation technique for gestural and sensor-based interfaces in which the system learns the relationship between user input (movement, breath, gaze) and output (sound, visuals, commands) from examples the user provides, rather than from designer-authored rules. The…

Marking Menu(also: Pie Menu, Radial Menu)

A marking menu is a radial (pie-shaped) menu that can be operated in two modes: a beginner mode that displays labelled wedges around the cursor for the user to aim at, and an expert mode that lets an experienced user draw the directional stroke toward the desired item without…

Morse Code(also: Morse Code Input)

A communication system that encodes text characters as sequences of short signals (dots) and long signals (dashes). Originally developed for telegraphy, Morse code has found significant application in assistive technology as an alternative text input method for people with…

Mouse Alternative(also: Alternative Pointing Device, Mouse Replacement)

A mouse alternative is any input device or technique that lets a user perform pointer-control tasks — moving a cursor, clicking, dragging, selecting — without using a conventional mouse. For people with motor impairments, mouse alternatives include trackballs, head-pointer and…

Mouse Emulation(also: Mouse Simulation, Virtual Mouse)

Software or hardware that simulates mouse pointer movement, clicks, and other mouse actions using alternative input methods such as head tracking, eye gaze, joysticks, switch scanning, keyboard commands, or biosignal interfaces. Mouse emulation enables people who cannot use a…

Mouth Interface(also: Mouth-operated interface, Mouth-based input)

An input modality that uses mouth movements - tongue position, cheek puffs, jaw motion, lip gestures, breath, or sip-and-puff - to control a computer, wheelchair, or XR system. Mouth interfaces serve people with limited upper-limb mobility (e.g., spinal cord injury, muscular…

Mouth Joystick(also: Lip Joystick, Mouth-Operated Joystick)

An assistive input device controlled by the user's mouth, lips, or tongue that functions as a pointer or gamepad joystick. The user moves a small stick held between the lips to direct cursor or on-screen movement; selection is typically triggered by a sip-and-puff switch, chin…

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…

Muscle-Computer Interface(also: MCI (Muscle-Computer Interface), EMG Interface)

An input modality in which signals generated by muscle contractions — typically recorded via surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors worn on the forearm or other muscle group — are interpreted by a computer to recognise discrete gestures or continuous control signals. Coined by…

Myo Armband(also: Thalmic Myo)

A commercially available wearable gesture-recognition armband released by Thalmic Labs in 2014 and discontinued in 2018, containing eight dry sEMG electrodes sampling at 200 Hz plus a 9-axis IMU. Despite its discontinuation, the Myo remains widely used in accessibility and HCI…

Non-Verbal Vocal Interface(also: NVVI, Non-Verbal Vocal Interaction)

An interaction method that uses non-speech vocal sounds — such as humming, hummed melodies, rhythmic patterns, or vowel sounds — to control a computer or communication device. Unlike speech recognition, which requires the user to produce intelligible words, non-verbal vocal…