Glossary

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REAPER(also: Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording)

A digital audio workstation (DAW) software application developed by Cockos that is known for its relatively strong accessibility support compared to other professional DAWs. When used with the OSARA (Open Source Accessibility for the REAPER Application) extension, REAPER…

RESOLV Icons(also: Representational Enumerated Semi-transparent Overlaid Labels for Voice)

A visual disambiguation technique for voice interfaces where semi-transparent numbered labels are overlaid on screen elements that match an ambiguous voice command. When a user speaks a command that could refer to multiple targets, RESOLV icons appear next to each matching…

RFID(also: Radio Frequency Identification, RFID Tag)

A technology that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. RFID tags contain electronically stored information that can be read by RFID readers without line-of-sight contact. In accessibility applications, RFID enables physical…

RGB-Depth Camera(also: RGB-D camera, Depth camera)

A camera that captures both a conventional colour image (RGB) and a per-pixel depth map, usually via structured light, time-of-flight, or stereo sensing. RGB-D cameras are widely used in assistive navigation systems for people who are blind because they enable real-time…

RGBD Camera(also: RGB-D Camera, Depth Camera, Stereo Camera)

A camera that captures both a colour (RGB) image and a per-pixel depth (D) measurement of the scene, yielding a 3D representation of the environment. Depth can be produced by stereo vision, structured light, or time-of-flight sensing. In accessibility research RGBD cameras…

RSSI Fingerprinting(also: Received Signal Strength Fingerprinting, Radio Fingerprinting, Signal Fingerprinting)

An indoor localization technique in which a device estimates its position by comparing the current pattern of received signal strengths (RSSI) from surrounding radio sources — most commonly Bluetooth Low Energy beacons or Wi-Fi access points — against a pre-collected map of…

Radial Direction(also: Angular Direction, Heading, Bearing (audio display))

In auditory-display research, a data value that represents a direction in a plane — for example a compass bearing, the tangent of a curve, or the orientation of a pointer — treated as an angle rather than as a pair of Cartesian coordinates. Radial values are inherently circular…

Raised Line Drawing(also: Raised Line Graphic, Tactile Line Drawing, Swell Paper Drawing)

A graphic representation in which lines and shapes are physically raised above the surface of paper or another substrate so they can be perceived by touch. Raised line drawings are a fundamental tool for making visual information accessible to blind and low-vision users,…

Raised-Line Drawing(also: Raised-Line Picture, Tactile Line Drawing, Embossed Line Drawing)

A raised-line drawing is a tactile representation of a visual image created by producing elevated lines on a surface that can be felt by touch, enabling blind and visually impaired people to perceive graphical information through their fingertips. Raised-line drawings can be…

Re-speaking(also: Respeaking, Speech-to-Text Relay)

A captioning technique in which a trained operator listens to a speaker and repeats (re-speaks) their words clearly into a high-quality microphone in a controlled environment, allowing automatic speech recognition software to generate captions with higher accuracy than direct…

Reach Envelope(also: Workspace Envelope, Reach Zone, Comfort Zone)

The three-dimensional volume of space that a person can physically access with their hands or arms from a given position, taking into account their specific motor abilities, range of motion, and comfort levels. For people with upper extremity mobility impairments — such as those…

Reacher(also: Grabber, Reacher-Grabber, Grabber Tool)

A reacher (also called a grabber or reacher-grabber) is a low-cost handheld assistive device — typically a lightweight aluminum or plastic shaft 60-90 cm long with a trigger handle at one end and a pair of gripping jaws at the other — used by people with limited reach, mobility,…

Read-Aloud Technology(also: Read-Aloud Feature, Text Read-Aloud)

Technology that converts written text to spoken audio output, allowing users to listen to content rather than or in addition to reading it visually. Read-aloud technology differs from general text-to-speech in its focus on synchronized presentation — highlighting words or…

Reading Assistance(also: Reading Assistance Technology, Reading Support Tools)

Reading assistance refers to technologies and strategies that help people understand written text more easily. This includes tools like text-to-speech, automatic text simplification, screen readers, reading rulers, and dictionary lookups. For accessibility, reading assistance is…

Reading Assistant(also: Reading Aid, Reading Machine)

An assistive technology device or software application that helps people with visual impairments or reading disabilities access printed or displayed text. Reading assistants may use optical character recognition to convert text images to speech, magnification to enlarge text, or…

Reading Support Technology(also: Reading Assistive Technology, Reading Aid)

Any technology designed to make reading more accessible for people with disabilities, encompassing tools that support decoding, comprehension, readability, navigation, and literacy development. Reading support technologies range from visual augmentations and text simplification…

Real Word Error(also: Real-Word Spelling Error)

A spelling error that results in a correctly spelled but unintended word, such as typing "hear" instead of "here" or "their" instead of "there." Real word errors are particularly common among people with dyslexia and pose a significant challenge because standard spellcheckers…

Real-Time Captioning(also: Live Captioning, Live Transcription)

The process of converting spoken language into text simultaneously as it is being spoken, displayed with minimal delay. Real-time captioning is essential for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to participate in live events, meetings, lectures, and conversations. Methods…

Real-Time Captioning(also: CART, Communication Access Realtime Translation, Live Captioning)

The instant conversion of spoken language into text displayed simultaneously as speech occurs, provided either by a trained human captioner or through automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology. Real-time captioning is a critical accessibility service for Deaf and…

Real-Time Captioning(also: Live Captioning, CART, Communication Access Realtime Translation)

The process of converting spoken language into text display in real time, typically with only a few seconds of delay. Professional real-time captioning (CART) uses stenographers with specialised shorthand keyboards who can type at speaking rates of 170+ words per minute,…

Recipe Progress Tracking(also: Cooking Progress Monitoring)

The specific application of procedural task tracking to cooking, where a system monitors which recipe steps have been completed and what remains. For BLV cooks, recipe progress tracking addresses a critical gap: existing voice-based recipe tools can read steps but cannot verify…

Refreshable Braille Display(also: Braille Display, Braille Terminal, Refreshable Tactile Display)

An electromechanical device that renders Braille characters by raising and lowering small pins through a flat surface, allowing blind users to read digital text output by touch. These devices connect to computers or mobile devices and work alongside screen readers to provide…

Refreshable Braille Display(also: Refreshable Braille, Dynamic Braille Display, Electronic Braille Display)

An electromechanical device that renders Braille characters by raising and lowering pins dynamically, allowing blind users to read digital text through touch. Conventional refreshable Braille displays present a single line of text (typically 20-80 characters) using piezoelectric…

Refreshable Graphics Display(also: Tactile Graphics Display, Dynamic Tactile Display)

A device that presents tactile graphics and diagrams through an array of pins that can be individually raised or lowered to create dynamic, changeable tactile patterns. Unlike static tactile graphics (embossed paper or thermoform), refreshable displays can show sequences of…

Refreshable Tactile Display(also: RTD, Refreshable Braille Display, Dynamic Tactile Display)

An electronic device that presents tactile graphics and content through an array of small pins that can be independently raised or lowered to create dynamic, changeable tactile surfaces. Unlike traditional static tactile graphics produced on paper through embossing or…

Region of Interest(also: ROI, Area of Interest, AOI)

A specific area within an image, video frame, or user interface that has been identified as particularly relevant or important for analysis or user attention. In eye-tracking research, regions of interest are predefined areas on a stimulus where fixation data is collected to…

Rehabilitation Engineering(also: Rehab Engineering)

An engineering discipline focused on quantifying, measuring, and modeling human performance to provide better-fitting assistive technology adaptations. Rehabilitation engineering emerged partly as a response to trial-and-error approaches in assistive technology, bringing…

Rehabilitation Gaming(also: Rehab Gaming, Therapeutic Gaming)

The use of digital games that incorporate physical rehabilitation exercises into gameplay, transforming repetitive therapeutic movements into engaging interactive experiences. Rehabilitation games map exercises such as cycling, reaching, balancing, or arm movements to in-game…

Relational Sovereignty

A framework proposed by Jang, Carrington and Begel (2026) as a new goal (telos) for socially assistive technology, defined as the recognised authority of a disabled person to choose their relational mode — acting independently or interdependently — and to set the terms on which…

Relief Chart(also: 3D Chart, Haptic Chart, Relief Graph)

A tactile data visualization that uses height (the third dimension) to encode data values, making charts accessible to people with visual impairments through touch. Unlike flat tactile graphics that use only texture or raised lines, relief charts represent data magnitude through…

Reminiscence Therapy(also: Reminiscence-Based Therapy, Life Review Therapy)

A non-pharmacological therapeutic approach for people with dementia that uses artifacts, photographs, music, and other personally meaningful materials to stimulate recall of past experiences and prompt conversation about life events. Reminiscence therapy aims to maintain the…

Remnant book(also: remnant scrapbook, memory book)

An AAC strategy that uses collected physical artifacts—such as ticket stubs, photos, business cards, and other tangible items—organized in a book or album to support communication for people with aphasia or other cognitive-communication disorders. Remnant books leverage…

Remote Accessibility Assessment(also: Virtual Accessibility Assessment, Pre-Visit Accessibility Check)

The practice of evaluating the physical accessibility of an unfamiliar environment without being physically present. Wheelchair users and others with mobility disabilities routinely assess spaces in advance to avoid dangerous, inaccessible, or frustrating situations. Current…

Remote Assistance(also: Remote Sighted Assistance, Visual Interpreting)

A service model where people who are blind or have low vision connect with sighted volunteers or trained agents via a live video call to receive real-time visual descriptions and guidance. Services like Be My Eyes and Aira use smartphone cameras to share the user's environment…

Remote Captioning(also: Remote CART, Remote Real-Time Captioning)

A live captioning service delivered at a distance, in which a human captioner (CART provider) or automatic speech recognition system receives an audio feed from a meeting, classroom, or event over the internet or a phone line and transmits transcribed text back to the user in…

Remote Desktop Software(also: Remote Access Software, Remote Control Software)

Software that allows a user to access and control one computer from another device over a network, displaying the remote computer's screen and relaying input commands. In accessibility contexts, remote desktop software serves as an unexpected but powerful assistive technology…

Remote Monitoring(also: Remote Patient Monitoring, RPM, Remote Care Monitoring)

Remote monitoring is the collection of health, activity, or environmental data from a person in their own home or community setting and its transmission to carers, clinicians, or family members at a distance. In a disability and ageing context, remote monitoring overlaps…

Remote Sighted Assistance(also: Remote Visual Assistance, Visual Interpreting, Remote Sighted Guide)

A service model in which a sighted person provides real-time visual information to a blind or visually impaired person remotely, typically through a smartphone video call. The blind user points their phone camera at what they need help with, and the sighted helper describes what…

Remote interpreting(also: Video remote interpreting, VRI, Remote sign language interpreting)

The provision of sign language interpretation or other communication access services through video technology, where the interpreter is located in a different physical space from the deaf or hard of hearing person. Remote interpreting uses networked video connections to link…

Remote sighted assistance(also: RSA, Visual interpreting service)

A service connecting blind or visually impaired individuals with sighted helpers through live video calls, enabling real-time visual guidance for everyday tasks. Services like Be My Eyes (volunteer-based), Aira (professional agents), and similar platforms allow BVI users to…

Remote therapy(also: Teletherapy, Telepractice, Telerehabilitation)

The delivery of therapeutic interventions — including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation — through technology-mediated communication rather than exclusively in-person sessions. Remote therapy systems typically combine a client-facing application (often…

Repeat Keys(also: Key Repeat Delay)

An operating system accessibility feature that controls how long a key must be held down before it begins to repeat, and how quickly it repeats once started. For users with motor disabilities who unintentionally hold keys down longer than intended, Repeat Keys allows the delay…

Residual vision(also: Functional vision, Usable vision)

The remaining visual ability of a person with a visual impairment, which may include partial acuity, limited visual field, or light perception. The vast majority of people classified as legally blind have some residual vision rather than total blindness. Assistive technology and…

Retrieval-Augmented Generation(also: RAG)

An AI technique that enhances the responses of large language models (LLMs) by first retrieving relevant information from an external knowledge base or document collection, then providing that information as context for the model to generate its response. In accessibility…

Reverse Dictionary(also: Sign-to-English Dictionary, ASL-to-English Dictionary)

A dictionary tool that allows users to search for the meaning of a sign language sign by inputting its visual or linguistic properties — such as handshape, location, movement, and orientation — rather than searching from a known English word. Reverse dictionaries address the…

Right to Repair

A movement advocating for consumers' ability to repair, modify, and maintain their own devices and equipment, including access to diagnostic information, repair manuals, and replacement parts. For people with disabilities, right to repair is especially significant because…

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,…

Robot-Assisted Feeding(also: Assistive Feeding Robot, Robotic Feeding System, RAF)

A robotic system designed to help people with upper-limb motor impairments eat independently by automating the process of acquiring food from a plate and transferring it to the user's mouth. Robot-assisted feeding systems range from simple table-mounted devices with spoons (like…

Robotic Arm(also: Robot Arm, Assistive Robotic Arm, Manipulator Arm)

A programmable mechanical device with jointed segments that can grasp, move, and manipulate objects, controlled through various input methods. In assistive technology contexts, robotic arms are used to extend the physical capabilities of people with motor impairments, enabling…

Robotic Guide Dog(also: Robot Guide Dog, Quadruped Guide Robot)

A mobile robot — typically a quadruped platform — designed to provide navigation and obstacle-avoidance support for blind and low-vision users, filling a role analogous to that of a trained guide dog. Research prototypes have explored handler interaction, leash-based coupling,…