Assistive Technology: Advances, Applications and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Assistive technology (AT) is designed to increase, maintain, or improve the functioning of people with disabilities. These products include hardware, software, or mechanical devices, such as wheelchairs. The purpose of AT is to improve the quality of life of people with a wide range of disabilities. The user community can experience varying levels of ability and it can be challenging to develop a single AT solution to suit the needs of all users.

There is an estimated 1.3 billion people (16% of the global population) who have significant disabilities that affect their daily lives and over 2.6 billion people require one or more assistive products. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the International Classification for Disability, Functioning and Health (ICF) framework, which has become the worldwide standard for measuring health and disability. There is an extensive range of AT products available to assist people with disabilities and improve their quality of life; however, awareness is a challenge and the WHO has identified that 1 in 10 people worldwide do not have access to required AT products.

AT can be used in education, to ensure that pupils have equal opportunities to access teaching materials. Previous studies by the Commonwealth of Learning have reported limited online educational resources relating to AT for teachers and support staff who assist pupils with disabilities.

It has been highlighted that education should be inclusive for all pupils and reasonable adjustments should be made based on the needs of an individual.

This Special Issue focuses on publications that provide insights into AT research studies, to understand methods being adopted and to address the current challenges in this domain. This can also include lessons learned from practical applications of AT to the specific needs of individuals, as well as assessing their social acceptability of solutions. Publications that investigate the impact of AI-supported AT are also welcome.

Original research articles for this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Accessibility (accessible authentication, accessible design, usable accessibility, user experience, visual design, and web accessibility).

• AI-enabled AT and issues (AI-assisted learning/communication, fairness, trust, and privacy).
• Diversity (technology acceptance, technology adoption, and technology discrimination).
• Human-centered design approaches (design solutions and evaluations, heuristics, multimodal interactions, and participatory design).
• Inclusivity (affordability, availability, design for all, inclusive by design, and universal design).
• Application areas (aging population, ambient assisted living, mobility, smart systems, telecare, and telehealth).
• Industrial case studies (education and training programmes, healthcare).

This Special Issue will supplement existing literature in domains relating to the development of AT solutions to improve quality of life. The content will increase AT knowledge, both for users and individuals providing support for people with disabilities. Additionally, the Special Issue has the potential to publish literature to improve users’ acceptance and experience of AI-enabled AT. This will minimize negative impacts that may result from the deployment and use of this type of technology.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Paul Whittington
Prof. Dr. Huseyin Dogan
Guest Editors

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