Assistive Technology: Current Advancements

As a person born at the dawn of the 21st century, I have enjoyed seeing the various technological advancements that have come about. At the age of four I experienced the Gameboy for the first time; and now, at nineteen, I see virtual reality slowing becoming a more accessible form of entertainment. The world is moving fast and all areas of technology are rapidly advancing, including assistive technology.

For years, assistive technology was gadget based, meaning that they were tangible objects that physically helped its user. Gadgets such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, and many more were given to people with disabilities.

In the 21st century, ATs are being integrated into computerized devices as apps or features that help disabled people better navigate the technological world rather than just the physical. An early example of this is the implementation of closed captioning (a display of the words being spoken) on television. This feature used to be limited to high class devices, however, now we see closed captioning in all screenplay devices and apps (Hulu, Netflix, etc.).

A more advanced example of this integration would be eye tracking technology. In the article, “New Developments in Assistive Technology that are Providing Independence to People with Disabilities”, Matthew Flynn writes, “assistive technology using eye-tracking technology opens the doors to the digital world for people with mobility issues … to allow people with mobility impairments to access computers and operate Windows applications with their eyes” (Flynn, 1). Rather than just supporting the weak appendages of a disabled person, this technology nullifies the need for intricate gross and fine motor movement by having the computer do most of the work. The computer tracks the eyes of its user and responds to specific eye movements that indicate a specific command.

Assistive technology is beginning to become more dominant in its ability to assist; requiring less work from the user.

Question of the Day: How do you think assistive technology might influence the productivity of the human race? Will we become too lazy?