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Photo: Hands typing on a Braille display connected to a laptop

Aids for people with sensory disabilities

Photo: a man with dark hair and beard - Lionel Messi - smiles and holds the small OrCam in front of the camera; Copyright: OrCam

Lionel Messi and OrCam:
Enhancing self-determination

Off the soccer field, professional footballer Lionel Messi is known for his commercials for Pepsi, Lay's or Dolce & Gabbana. Now he has also become the brand ambassador for OrCam MyEye and shines a bright light on this unique assistive technology.

Aids for visually impaired and blind people

In 2019, various exhibitors offered special aids and products for visually impaired and blind people. In the field of communication, visual aids for computers – such as electronic reading magnifiers and cameras – or new software, various Braille models and also products in the field of image recognition were presented.
Here you can find assistive aids for visually impaired and blind people
Photo: Person walking on the sidewalk with a long cane, focus on the aid; Copyright: Andi Weiland | Boehringer Ingelheim, Gesellschaftsbilder.de

Europe: Inclusion with the help of assistive devices

The supply of auxiliary means differs from country to country – within Europe and worldwide. This can lead to problems for the individuals who live with a disability and depend on their assistive aids in order to be mobile and participate in professional and social life. So what exactly is the situation like and what needs to be improved?

Photo: Anja Winkler sits at her workplace in front of a monitor and operates a hyper-pin Braille plate system; Copyright: TU Dresden

"Breaking down mental barriers is more important than auxiliary aids"

Competent and tough – Anja Winkler works at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) and by virtue of her own disability is in charge of multiple accessibility and inclusion aspects. In this REHACARE.com interview, she describes the auxiliary aids and services that help make her workday easier and explains how she overcomes the barriers she occasionally faces as a blind staff member.

Aids for hard of hearing and deaf people

Several exhibitors presented special aids and products for hearing impaired and the deaf people at REHACARE 2019. In the field of communication, for example, optical or mechanical signal transmitters and alarm clocks as well as telephone amplification systems were presented or services provided by sign language interpreters.
Here you can find assistive aids for hard of hearing and deaf people
Photo: A hand controlling smart home options on a tablet; Copyright: PantherMedia/aa-w

Safe smart living and aging in place

Our living space reveals a lot about us. It undergoes many changes as the years go by and – with any luck - adapts to our circumstances. Sooner or later accessibility becomes an important issue for all of us. When it comes to our own four walls, this may consist of technology that enables us to live a self-determined life or may involve smart home devices and assistance systems that could lower caregiver stress and relieve the care sector.

Photo: Display of the Smartwatch app with a notification of a car honk; Copyright: Jain et al./ASSETS 2020

Smartwatch app alerts d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing users to different sounds

Smartwatches offer people a private method for getting notifications about their surroundings – such as a phone call, health alerts or an upcoming package delivery. Now University of Washington researchers have developed SoundWatch, a smartwatch app for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people who want to be aware of nearby sounds.