Tag: Disability

Some wheelchairs can be steered by head movements or facilitate conversations at eye-level. But recording cinema-quality moving images from different perspectives has - until now - proved challenging for wheelchair users. Enter the founder of an inclusive film production company in London and his ingenious wheelchair-based camera mounting system. Like a steadicam, the system delivers 3-stage image stabilisation, while...

A lamp detects epileptic fits. In the meantime, a Viennese startup has developed treatment glasses which use light to alleviate the symptoms of depression. Depression also manifests itself when the brain’s network grows rigid, compromising its ability to make new connections between nerve cells and - to put it simply - think about something else. The treatment glasses deliver...

Dialysis could soon be administered on the move. But movement remains an issue for some people with diabetes, owing to nerve problems in their feet. Enter a Swiss startup and its smart knee-high socks. Sensors embedded in the sole capture the pressure exerted by users while walking, and send the information to a miniature control unit integrated into the...

A new screen displays the highest resolution humans can perceive. Now for people who use bi- or varifocal lenses comes the latest development from a Finnish startup: ‘autofocus’ glasses. Its lenses are cut for users’ distance vision and feature embedded liquid crystals in a large circular area in the centre. Sensors in the frame send invisible infrared light to...

A pop-up display could help those with limited vision access the digital world. Meanwhile, a Cologne-based startup is offering the German-speaking deaf community, who also have difficulty reading, a similar opportunity: its avatar renders website content into sign language. Website administrators use an internet platform with a toolbox to arrange pre-defined blocks of text and tailor them to individual...

A smart pen deciphers Braille characters. But participating fully in digital life remains a challenge for those with no or limited vision. Enter a New York-based research team and its sparkling idea. The team’s square display contains 100 evenly arranged circular silicone sheets, each measuring 2mm in diameter. The sheets can be made to pop up within 0.24 milliseconds...

Fungi for healthy feet? No longer a paradox thanks to DIY insoles. Now a research team in Atlanta has invented a smart inner sole to support people with walking problems. Pressure data from each foot is collected thanks to 170 thin, flexible sensors spread across the soles underneath users’ feet. Meaning each step can be analysed to determine whether...

Braille characters can be translated using a pen. Now, a science team on America’s west coast is using writing to help diagnose Parkinson’s without breaking the bank. The team’s 3D-printed diagnostic pen is filled with magnetic fluid, while a coil of conductive yarn is wrapped around its barrel. The tip is made from magnetic silicon. When tracing letters directly...