Glossary of Terms Sensory Aids for Persons With Visual Impairments

Glossary of Terms	Definitions	Examples
Accessibility Options	Software adaptions included in Windows that address common problems that persons with disabilities have in using a standard keyboard.	Accessibility features are installed on your computer by default.
Alternative Mobility Device	In assistive technologies, a different way of accomplishing the same task.	can provide as much protection (or more!) as a long cane, but without having to use proper cane technique
Alternative Sensory System	The use of a different sensory channel to substitute for nonfictional one; common examples of this approach are the use of braille for reading by persons with visual impairment and the use of manual sign language by person who are deaf.	A sensory system is a part of the nervous system responsible for processing sensory information. A sensory system consists of sensory receptors, neural pathways, and parts of the brain involved in sensory perception. Commonly recognized sensory systems are those for vision, auditory (hearing), somatic sensation (touch), gustatory (taste), olfaction (smell) and vestibular (balance/movement).
Braille	Raised dots that can be read by touch; a cell of either six or eight dots is used to portray letters and special computer symbols.	is a tactile writing system used by the blind and the visually impaired. It is traditionally written with embossed paper.
Clear Path Indicator	A sensory device that provides signals to the user only if an object is detected in a field about 2 feet in diameter and about 6 feet from user.	multisensor strategies to assist blind people
Closed-Circuit Television	A video camera and monitor used to enlarge text and other print material.	Closed-circuit television, also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point to point, point to multipoint, or mesh wireless links.
Digital Audio-Based Information System	An international consortium of organizations that produce reading material for the blind; has developed standards for digital books on a tape.	Talking books; output to the reader by audio clips, screen magnification, synthetic speech, refreshable braille, or printouts in either print or braille
Digital Talking Books	Reading material for individuals who are blind; produced on digital media and can be reproduced and read on a variety of hardware platforms and operating systems.	DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System) is a technical standard for digital audio books, periodicals and computerized text
Electronic Travel Aid	Sensory devices that supplement rather than replace the long cane or guide dog, designed to provide additional environmental information and to detect those obstacles typically missed by the long cane.	is a form of assistive technology having the purpose of enhancing mobility for the blind pedestrian
Graphical User Interface	Characterized by three distinguished features: a mouse pointer, which is moved around the screen; a graphical menu bar, which appears on the screen; and one or more windows, which provide a menu of choices.	takes advantage of the computer's graphics capabilities to make the program easier to use with pointing devices, menus and icons.
Human/Technology Interface	The portion of the assistive technology system with which the user interacts.	The hardware and software through which the user interacts with any technology.
Information Processor	The portion of a sensory aid that converts the raw sensory data from the environmental sensor to a form suitable for presentation via the user display.	a machine for performing calculations automatically computer, computing device, computing machine, and data processor.
Internet	Worldwide computer network available via modem that connects users globally for electronic mail, file transfer, electronic commerce, and similar functions.	World wide web.
Magnification Aids	Low vision aids for reading point material.	works to help many low vision patients.
Optical Aids	Devices that allow individuals with low vision to see point, do work requiring fine detail, or increase the range of their vision fields.	eyeglasses (spectacles), and the technical design of eyeglass lenses has advanced considerably.
Optical Character Recognition	A software program that runs on a standard PC; its primary function is to analyze the raw video data and assemble it into letters, spaces, and punctuation for synthetic speech or braille output.	the mechanical or electronic conversion of images of typewritten or printed text into machine-encoded text.
Orientation and Mobility	The process by which an individual who is blind is able to achieve independent movement in the environment.	is a profession specific to blindness and low vision that teaches safe, efficient, and effective travel skills to people of all ages.
Reading Aid	A sensory device designed to provide access to print materials for an individual who is blind.	book covers and book holders for paperback and hardcover books provide the ultimate in E-Z Flex, hand-free reading of paperback and hardcover books.
Refreshable Braille Display	The use of mechanically raised pins to represent braille cells, organized in arrays of from 1 to 80 cells.	displays are electronic devices used to read text tactually that is typically displayed visually on a computer monitor.
Screen Readers	Systems that provide speech synthesis or braille output for blind users.	is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen.
Spatial Display	The overall physical and shape of the control interface, the number of targets available for activation, the size of each target and the spacing between targets.	any display hardware which is capable of giving the illusion of physical depth
Universal Access	Software adaptions included in Apple Macintosh operating systems that address common problems that persons with disabilities have in using a standard keyboard and in seeing characters on the screen.	education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, gender, or ethnicity background.
User Agent	Software to access Web content; includes desktop graphical browsers, text and voice browsers, mobile phones, multimedia players, and software assistive technologies used with browsers.	It shows details of your web browser, operating system, architecture and rendering engine.
User Display	The portion of a sensory device that portrays the sensory information for the human user.	which visualizes alert information.