Glossary

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Ability-based calibration(also: Adaptive calibration, Movement range calibration)

The process of adjusting a technology system's input sensitivity and thresholds to match an individual user's physical capabilities and range of motion, rather than assuming a normative body. In motion-based gaming and rehabilitation, ability-based calibration typically involves…

Accessible Gesture Interaction(also: Inclusive Gesture Design)

The design and implementation of gesture-based interactions that can be effectively used by people with diverse abilities, including those with motor impairments, visual disabilities, or conditions such as tremor, spasm, or limited range of motion. Accessible gesture interaction…

Active Exploration(also: User-Directed Exploration)

An interaction paradigm in non-visual interfaces where users physically control their navigation through information, discovering content by directing a pointer, stylus, or finger across a surface or through a virtual space. In contrast to passive exploration, where the entire…

Ad-Hoc Customization(also: On-the-Fly Customization, Real-Time Adjustment)

Making customization changes during content consumption rather than configuring all settings beforehand. For ADHD video viewers, ad-hoc customization was preferred by 75% of participants because it allows viewers to react to distractions as they encounter them while gaining…

Adaptive Disclosure(also: On-Demand Disclosure, Progressive Disclosure for Accessibility)

An interface design pattern in which supplementary accessibility content — summaries, keyphrase previews, navigation maps, alternative descriptions — is revealed only when the user requests it rather than shown alongside the primary content at all times. Adaptive disclosure…

Adaptive Interface(also: Adaptive UI, Self-Adapting Interface)

A user interface that automatically adjusts its layout, content, or behavior based on user context, abilities, preferences, or device constraints without requiring explicit user configuration. Adaptive interfaces in accessibility research have included systems that modify visual…

Adaptive Interface(also: Adaptive User Interface, Self-Adapting Interface)

A user interface that automatically modifies its presentation, behaviour, or content based on detected user characteristics, capabilities, preferences, or environmental conditions. In accessibility, adaptive interfaces can respond to changes in a user's sensory, motor, or…

Adaptive interface(also: Adaptive UI, Self-adapting interface)

A user interface that automatically adjusts its parameters — such as target sizes, input methods, timing, layout, or interaction modalities — in response to detected changes in the user's abilities, context, or preferences. Adaptive interfaces are a key implementation strategy…

Aftercare(also: Post-Interaction Care)

Reflective or supportive activity following an intimate, intense, or sensitive interaction, in which participants check in on each other's wellbeing, discuss the experience, and address any needs that arise. The concept is drawn into HCI through consent technology research as a…

Area Pointing(also: Point and Click, Mouse Pointing)

Area pointing is the conventional target-acquisition paradigm in graphical user interfaces, in which the user must move a cursor inside a confined two-dimensional target region and then execute a click (or equivalent dwell, tap, or activation action) to select it. Targets such…

Asymmetric Gameplay(also: Asymmetric Game Design, Asymmetric Multiplayer)

A game design approach where different players have different roles, abilities, information, or challenges within the same game. In the context of accessibility, asymmetric gameplay is a promising strategy for mixed-ability gaming because it allows each player's role and…

Asynchronous Control(also: Self-Paced Control, Asynchronous BCI)

A mode of interaction with a computer or assistive device where the user can issue commands at any time of their choosing, rather than being constrained to respond within system-defined time windows. In brain-computer interface research, asynchronous control is contrasted with…

Attention Management(also: Attention Design)

Design strategies and techniques that help users direct, maintain, and recover attention while interacting with digital content. For users with ADHD, attention management in interface design includes minimizing distractions (reducing visual clutter, hiding non-essential…

Attention Tunneling(also: Visual Tunneling, Attentional Tunneling, Cognitive Tunneling)

A phenomenon in which a user concentrates so narrowly on a primary information source - typically a visual overlay, head-up display, or instrument - that they fail to notice relevant events, objects, or hazards in their surrounding environment. In augmented and mixed reality,…

Audio Feedback(also: Auditory Feedback, Sound Feedback)

Information conveyed to a user through sound in response to an action or event within a system. Audio feedback encompasses a wide range of techniques including earcons (short abstract sounds), auditory icons (sounds that resemble real-world events), speech output, and…

Audio Icon(also: Auditory Icon, Earcon)

A non-speech sound used in a user interface to represent an object, action, or event, analogous to how visual icons represent concepts graphically. Audio icons use everyday sounds that have a natural association with what they represent (e.g., a crumpling sound for deleting a…

Audio-Based Interface(also: Audio Interface, Auditory Interface)

A computer interface that uses sound as the primary means of conveying information and supporting interaction, rather than visual display. Audio-based interfaces are essential for blind and visually impaired users and may employ speech output, environmental sounds, musical…

Audio-Haptic Feedback Layering(also: Multimodal Feedback Layering)

A design technique for managing multiple concurrent non-visual feedback signals by strategically prioritizing, staggering, and adjusting audio and haptic cues to prevent sensory overload. Techniques include audio cutting (interrupting lower-priority sounds when urgent cues are…

Audio-Spatial Mapping(also: Auditory-Spatial Mapping, Sound Spatialization)

A technique that uses sound properties such as pitch, volume, panning, and spatialization to represent spatial information non-visually. In accessibility contexts, audio-spatial mapping helps blind and low vision users build mental models of physical or virtual spaces by…

Audio-Tactile(also: Audio-Tactile Interaction, Audio-Haptic)

An interaction paradigm that combines tactile (touch-based) and auditory feedback to convey information. Audio-tactile systems pair physical surfaces, such as raised maps or 3D-printed models, with location-triggered audio output so that touching a specific area plays a…

Auditory Feedback(also: Audio Feedback, Auditory Display)

The use of sound — including tones, sound effects, earcons, and speech — to convey information about system states, user actions, or environmental changes. In accessibility, auditory feedback serves as a non-visual channel for communicating information that is typically…

Auditory Icon(also: Audio Icon)

A non-speech sound used in a user interface that represents an object, action, or event by mimicking its real-world sound — for example, the sound of crumpling paper to indicate deleting a file, or a camera shutter sound for taking a screenshot. Auditory icons rely on causal…

Aural Interaction(also: Auditory Interaction)

Aural interaction refers to human-computer interaction that takes place primarily through the auditory channel, encompassing both speech-based input/output and non-speech audio such as auditory icons, earcons, and sonification. A key characteristic distinguishing aural…

23 results.