Glossary

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Impulse Engine(also: Impulse Engine 3000)

The Impulse Engine 3000 was a force-feedback haptic device manufactured by Immersion Corporation in the 1990s, used for research into haptic interfaces and virtual reality. The device featured a probe that users manipulated in three degrees of freedom (forward/backward, up/down,…

Index of Difficulty(also: ID, Fitts ID)

The Index of Difficulty (ID) is the central quantity in Fitts' law that captures how hard a rapid aimed pointing movement is, computed as log₂(A/W + 1) in the Shannon formulation, where A is the amplitude (distance to the target) and W is the target width along the movement…

Input Method Editor(also: IME, Input Method)

A software component that allows users to enter characters and symbols not directly available on their physical keyboard, particularly for languages with large character sets or complex scripts. IMEs are essential for typing in languages like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and…

Input Modality(also: Interaction Modality, Input Method)

A distinct channel or method through which a user provides input to a computing system, such as touch, voice, gesture, gaze, or keyboard interaction. In accessibility contexts, supporting multiple input modalities is critical because users with different disabilities may need…

Input Rate(also: Keystroke Rate)

The speed at which a user can produce individual keystrokes or character inputs, typically measured in seconds per keystroke. Input rate varies dramatically across access methods: touch typists may achieve 0.1-0.2 seconds per keystroke, while users of switch scanning systems or…

Integrated Control System(also: Integrated Control)

An assistive technology approach where a single input device serves multiple control functions, such as wheelchair navigation, mouse cursor control, and text entry. Integrated control systems reduce the number of separate devices a person with a disability must manage, lowering…

Isometric Gesture(also: Isometric Contraction Gesture)

An isometric gesture is a gesture in which a person activates their muscles without producing visible movement — the body position remains static while muscle tension changes. This contrasts with isotonic gestures, where visible hand or arm movement occurs over time. Isometric…

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…

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