Assistive technology for the visually impaired: use cases and the particulars of development

The global assistive technology market spans a range of assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices and software that help people with seeing disabilities live self-sufficient lives. In 2020, the market was valued at $3.93 billion. It is projected to reach $7.99 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 8.30%. The key drivers underpinning this growth include:

The following companies make up a significant share of the assistive technology market:

Let's now see in more detail which assistive technology solutions are getting momentum today and how they help people with visual impairments.

Equipped with sensors and a technology-powered brain, smart canes help people with visual impairments feel safer when navigating through the city. Not only do smart canes recognize and notify of obstacles, but they also integrate with smartphones, which opens up additional possibilities, from voice-assisted GPS navigation to the real-time description of places and objects a person is passing by. So, a person using a smart cane may set a destination before leaving home and get voice directions as they walk. Along the way, the cane will then notify the person that they are, for instance, passing by their favorite Starbucks or heading toward the needed bus stop. The most popular smart cane on the market is the one developed by WeWALK. Paired with the WeWALK mobile app, the smart cane eases up daily navigation with voice commands, public transportation info, and object detection.

Reading assistance apps make it easier for the visually impaired to use computers, smartphones, and other devices, allowing for a more convenient experience. Such apps transform the text displayed on screen into a form a visually impaired person is comfortable with — tactile, auditory, or a combination of both. Reading assistants with acoustic outputs rely on speech synthesizers. Those with tactile outputs make use of refreshable braille displays.

The way a user interacts with a reading assistant may look as follows. A person presses a specific combination of keys on a computer keyboard or a braille board. The software processes the command and returns a voice message (e.g., a page of text read out loud) or activates the actuators controlling the braille tablet. Advanced reading assistance applications carry out more tasks, like locating highlighted text, identifying the active choice in the menu, or reading the text displayed in a specific color. The widely used text-to-speech applications are JAWS screen reader, Kurzweil education, BRLTTY, CDesk Compass, COBRA, Dolphin Guide, Eye-Pal® Ace, NVDA, Speakup, and others.

Speech-to-text software helps people with visual impairments write, study, and communicate socially. As implied by its name, speech-to-text solutions convert natural speech into text at up to 99% accuracy. To do so, the software breaks an audible message down into phonemes and maps them to the database to select the best-fit written equivalent. Modern voice recognition solutions boast additional features, like speech adaptation. They offer a capability to customize the speech recognition algorithm so that it accurately transcribes rare and domain-specific terms or, for example, automatically converts numbers into dates, currency, and phone numbers. The leading voice recognition solutions popular among people with visual impairments span Dragon Dictation, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, J-Say Pro, and Windows Speech-to-text.

Assistive technology vendors draw on the power of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and the Internet of Things to develop smart glasses. One example comes from Eyedaptic, a US-based provider of AR-powered glasses. The product boasts auto-zoom, contrast enhancement, and magnification features. It runs on adaptive vision software, helping those with central vision loss lead more productive lives with the comfort of an analog pair.

Virtual reality is also being used to help people with low vision see better. In this case, however, instead of immersing people in surreal experiences, VR recreates a virtual copy of the real world — the one adapted for perception by people with vision impairments. One example of VR-powered assistive technology for the visually impaired comes from IrisVision. The company has created a device that combines the functions of a smartphone and a VR headset to help people navigate the world more independently. So, a smartphone's camera captures what a visually impaired person is looking at and remaps the scene to enhance its visibility. The wearer thus sees a magnified and enhanced picture of reality. The device is powered with a touchpad that lets users zoom in and out to see objects at a comfortable distance. VR-powered assistive technology solutions help people with glaucoma and tunnel vision, too. VR helps project a scene onto the smaller area of the retina that's still functioning.

Smart home systems powered with voice control help people with visual impairments do a variety of daily tasks:

To win the hearts of end users, the developers of assistive technology solutions should pay special attention to the following aspects:

With governments and tech leaders launching accessibility programs, assistive technology for the visually impaired is tiptoeing in the spotlight. Tech companies are drawing on the recent developments in artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things to design next-gen solutions for people with seeing disabilities. Still, the market of assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired calls for a broader range of convenient and affordable tools for those with low vision.