Assistive Augmentation Technologies

Dear Colleagues,

Assistive Augmentation is an emerging research thrust that sits at the intersection of accessibility, assistive technologies and human augmentation. The central theme is that of putting sensorial capability on a continuum of usability for certain technology—not in individual silos per targeted audience of an assistive technology. For example, consider a reading aid for people with visual impairments that enables access to printed text. Apart from its main purpose, the same aid can be used by sighted users for other applications such as language learning or reading with eyes closed. In essence, the Assistive Augmentation as a field is concerned with the design, development and study of technology that substitute, recovers, empowers or augments physical, sensorial or cognitive capabilities, depending on specific user needs.

The overall goal of this special issue is to explore and disseminate assistive augmentation technologies. Technologies that are used in submissions to this special issue comprise but are not limited to the following technology enablers:

• Multi-sensory cueing or augmentation systems (haptics, taste, smell, …)
• Wearable actuators
• Touch, tangible and gesture interfaces
• Wearable sensors, ambient-device interaction
• Sensory substitution systems
• Sensor fusion for multi modal assistive augmentations
• Cross-assistive devices
• Smart spaces, collaborative interface technologies
• Projector-camera systems, visual mapping
• Wearable and situated displays (e.g., eyewear, smart watches, pico-projectors)

Submissions can for instance focus on novel designs, technology implementations and applications thereof, case studies and empirical evaluations of assistive augmentation technology. Application domains can focus on but are also not limited to:

• Therapy and rehabilitation
• Ageing in place
• Learning beyond the classroom
• Tools and workplaces
• Augmented and enhanced perception and interaction
• Automobiles and autonomous vehicles
• Perception of virtual spaces, objects, …
• Technology acceptance and social implications
• Artistic and creative applications

Dr. Jochen Huber
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suranga Nanayakkara
Assist. Prof. Dr. Roy Shilkrot
Dr. Markus Funk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Assistive Technology
• Assistive Augmentation
• Human Augmentation
• Human-Computer Interaction
• User Experience Design
• Multi-Modal Interaction