Glossary

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Tactile Accuracy

Tactile accuracy is an evaluation criterion for measuring how well a person perceives the shape information of an object in a tactile image through touch. Unlike "naming accuracy" (whether someone can name the object), tactile accuracy captures whether the person has obtained…

Tactile Art(also: Touch Art, Haptic Art)

Pictures, illustrations, sculptures, and multimodal compositions that are created to be accessible through the sense of touch, either crafted intentionally for touch-focused experiences or made accessible through tactile or haptic properties. Tactile art is distinguished from…

Tactile Drawing(also: Tactile Picture Making)

The process of creating raised-line images that can be perceived through touch rather than vision. Tactile drawing can be done by blind or sighted people using methods such as drawing on swell paper with a thermo pen to produce immediately raised lines, using a stylus on plastic…

Tactile Exhibit(also: Touch Exhibit, Hands-On Exhibit, Tactile Display)

A museum or gallery exhibit designed to be explored through touch rather than sight, allowing visitors to physically interact with objects, models, or replicas. Tactile exhibits are particularly important for accessibility as they enable blind and low-vision visitors to…

Tactile Exploration Strategy(also: Haptic Exploration Strategy, Touch Exploration Pattern)

A systematic approach or pattern that a person uses when exploring tactile graphics, maps, or other touch-based representations. Research has identified several distinct strategies: "following outlines" (tracing the borders of shapes), "saccade" (jumping between specific zones),…

Tactile Fidelity

The degree of detail and accuracy in a tactile representation compared to the real object or concept it represents. High-fidelity tactile models include fine details, textures, and proportional accuracy, while low-fidelity models use simplified shapes and reduced detail to…

Tactile Graphicacy(also: Tactile Literacy, Tactile Reading Skills)

The learned ability to read, interpret, and create meaning from tactile images, maps, diagrams, and graphics through touch. Just as visual graphicacy is developed through exposure to visual images, tactile graphicacy requires practice with a wide range of tactile materials and…

Tactile Icon(also: Tactile Symbol, 3D Icon, Raised Icon)

A small raised or three-dimensional symbol placed on a tactile map or diagram that represents a real-world object, location, or concept through touch. Tactile icons can be abstract (geometric shapes requiring a legend) or representational (physically resembling the object they…

Tactile Image(also: Tactile Graphic, Tactile Picture, Touch Image)

A tactile image is a raised or textured representation of a visual image designed to be perceived through touch rather than sight. Tactile images can be produced through various methods including embossing, swell paper (microcapsule paper), Braille printers, thermoforming, and…

Tactile Image Exploration(also: Tactile Graphics Exploration, Haptic Image Exploration)

Tactile image exploration is the process by which blind or visually impaired users perceive and interpret graphical content through touch, typically by moving their fingers across raised-line drawings, embossed diagrams, or haptic displays. Unlike visual perception, which allows…

Tactile Imaging(also: Tactile Image, Tactile Image Conversion, Visual-to-Tactile Conversion)

The process of converting visual images into tactile representations that can be perceived through touch, enabling blind and visually impaired users to access graphical information. Tactile imaging involves simplifying complex visual content into raised patterns, textures, or…

Tactile Learning(also: Haptic Learning, Touch-Based Learning)

An educational approach that uses the sense of touch to convey information, explore concepts, and develop understanding. For blind and low vision learners, tactile learning encompasses reading Braille, exploring raised-line diagrams, manipulating physical models, and using…

Tactile Literacy(also: Tactile Reading Skills)

The ability to interpret, understand, and create information conveyed through the sense of touch, including the skills needed to read tactile graphics, maps, diagrams, braille, and other raised representations. Like visual literacy, tactile literacy must be developed…

Tactile Overlay(also: Touch Overlay, Tactile Screen Overlay)

A physical sheet or frame placed on top of a touchscreen or flat surface that provides raised tactile landmarks, borders, buttons, and contextual information for users who are blind or have low vision. Tactile overlays can be made from laser-cut cardboard, 3D printed materials,…

Tactile Perception(also: Cutaneous Perception, Touch Perception)

Tactile perception is the process of perceiving and interpreting information through the sense of touch, encompassing both cutaneous perception (sensing through the skin in a stationary process, detecting texture, pressure, vibration, temperature, and pain) and haptic perception…

Tactile Printer(also: Braille Embosser, Tactile Embosser)

A device that produces raised-line graphics and text on paper or other media, enabling people who are blind or have low vision to access visual information through touch. Tactile printers work by embossing dots or lines onto heavy paper, or by using thermal processes with…

Tactile Rendering

The process of converting visual or spatial information into a tactile format that can be perceived through touch by blind or visually impaired users. Tactile rendering involves decisions about how to represent 3D objects, spatial relationships, depth, and visual attributes…

Tactile Stimulation(also: Tactile Feedback, Cutaneous Stimulation)

Tactile stimulation refers to the use of physical sensations delivered to the skin to convey information, typically through vibrations, pin arrays, textures, or pressure changes. In assistive technology, tactile stimulation is fundamental to braille displays, haptic interfaces,…

Tadoma(also: Tadoma Method)

A tactile method of communication used by individuals who are deafblind, in which the receiver places their hand on the speaker's face — thumb lightly on the lips and fingers along the jawline and cheek — to feel the movements of speech including lip movements, vibrations, and…

Tatreez(also: Palestinian Cross-Stitch, Palestinian Embroidery)

A traditional Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery practice, inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021, in which motifs encode regional identity, family history, and social status through colour and geometric pattern. In accessibility…

Thermal Embosser(also: Thermal Swell Paper Printer)

A device that produces tactile graphics by heating speciality swell paper (also called microcapsule paper) to raise areas printed with dark ink or toner. The microcapsules embedded in the paper expand when exposed to heat, creating a raised surface that can be felt by touch.…

Thermo Pen(also: Thermal Pen, Heat Pen)

A specialized drawing instrument that produces heat at its tip, used in conjunction with swell paper (microcapsule paper) to create instant raised-line tactile graphics. When the thermo pen is drawn across swell paper, the heat causes the microcapsules in the paper to expand…

Thermoform(also: Vacuum-Formed Plastic, Thermoform Duplicator)

A method of producing tactile images and braille copies by heating a thin sheet of plastic and vacuum-forming it over a master copy (typically an embossed original) to create a durable raised-line reproduction. Thermoform machines heat plastic sheets and use vacuum pressure to…

Thermotactile Feedback(also: Thermal Feedback, Thermal Haptic Feedback, Thermotactile Display)

Thermotactile feedback is a form of haptic communication that conveys information through controlled temperature changes on the skin, using heating or cooling elements such as Peltier thermoelectric modules. In accessibility, thermotactile feedback offers an alternative to…

Touch Panel(also: Touch Tablet, Touch-Sensitive Panel, Digitizer Tablet)

A flat, pressure-sensitive input surface that detects the position of a finger or stylus when it makes contact. Unlike touchscreens, which combine display and input on the same surface, a touch panel is a separate input device placed over or alongside a display. In…

Touchpad(also: Touch Tablet, Touch-Sensitive Pad)

A flat, pressure-sensitive input device that detects the position of a finger or stylus on its surface. In assistive technology contexts, touchpads are used as interactive overlays for tactile graphics and maps, enabling users who are blind to place a tactile printout on the pad…

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