Assistive Technology

THAILAND: National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEP), and Department of Older Persons (DOP) signed in an MoU to support the development of the innovations for empowering the older people and persons with disabilities. In the initial stage, there are a few inventions that… Continue Reading »

CANADA  – CNIB, Canada’s largest non-profit serving people with sight loss, has signed a new partnership agreement with LEARNstyle, experts in specialized education and assistive technology training. Through this exciting new partnership, LEARNstyle will provide high-quality, specialized training to support Ontario teachers and students in their journey to take full advantage… Continue Reading »

UNITED KINGDOM: Hertfordshire County Council has produced a visual guide to demonstrate how assistive technology can be used inside and outside the home to aid independent living. The interactive guide allows the user to click on different parts of a ‘technology house’ to view examples of devices and solutions that can be installed or… Continue Reading »

US – A group of students from internationally acclaimed US-based Harvard University has launched a startup called Foresight, a wearable navigation aid for people with vision impairments that uses cutting-edge soft robotics and computer vision technology. Foresight connects to a user’s smartphone camera, which is worn around the neck. It detects… Continue Reading »

UNITED KINGDOM: Heriot-Watt University scientists are launching what they believe is the world’s first open and remote access living lab to research and create innovative independent living solutions for elderly and disabled people. Creating solutions for Ambient Assisted Living (OpenAAL), the multi-disciplinary lab will target the rapid co-creation of scalable… Continue Reading »

SYRIA: War is causing havoc and destruction in Syria. However, children remain innocent within this realm and their pursuits of playtime and fun are undiminished. Ten-year-old Loai was playing in his neighborhood in Aleppo with his friends when a shell was dropped on them. Loai lost his hand in the attack.… Continue Reading »

BIOENGINEERS have built a glove able to translate sign language to speech in real-time. The cutting-edge glove features thin, stretchable sensors running to the fingertips. These sensors can detect motions and finger placement through electrically conducting yarns. Those sensors are then connected to a tiny circuit board – approximately the… Continue Reading »

IRELAND: Carried out by researchers at Dublin City University, a new survey has been launched to explore and develop cost-effective assistive technology solutions to help elderly people to remain independent and safe in their own homes. Researchers at the Centre for e-Integrated Care (CeIC) and the Insight SFI Research Centre for… Continue Reading »

The Zero Project team invites leading experts and organizations to nominate Innovative Practices and Policies concerning this year’s topic: Employment and ICT. Click here to submit your nomination This year, we are seeking for Innovative Practices and Policies from across the business, civil, technology, academic and public sectors and have… Continue Reading »

GERMANY: German engineers from the University of Bayreuth have developed an ultrasonic haptic display that allows them to display Braille numbers non-contact. The device can create several zones in the air at the same time, where the ultrasonic waves are focused and create a pressure that a person can distinguish. At the… Continue Reading »