The Metamorphosis of Assistive Technology
Part 3 of a 3-part series for World Assistive Technology Day
As we wrap up our three-part series, we take a look back and forward.
From analog tools to smart devices, assistive technology has undergone a quiet revolution. Once bulky or niche, AT is now woven into the fabric of daily life, often in ways many don’t even realize.
A woman wearing a light blue denim jacket, rust-colored skirt, and brown shoes stands on a paved area next to a row of teal TIER e-scooters and e-bikes. She is holding a white cane and wearing the Sixth Sense wearable assistive device around her neck, which is designed to aid navigation. The setting appears to be an urban area with brick buildings, trees, and a parked black car in the background.
When Access Becomes Everyday
If you’ve ever rolled a suitcase across a sloped sidewalk or turned on closed captions while watching a video in a noisy café, you’ve benefited from something called the Curb-Cut Effect. Originally designed for wheelchair users, curb cuts ended up helping everyone.
This ripple effect is alive and well in the digital space. Accessibility features that were once seen as “specialist”, like voice assistants, dark mode, or auto-correct are now widely adopted, because they improve usability for everyone.
Designing for disability doesn’t exclude. It includes more people, more use cases, and often leads to better design overall.
From Tools to Companions
The shift from analog to smart assistive technology has been game-changing. Smartphones, once just for communication, are now multi-functional tools that support access, independence, and connection.
As ATScale puts it:
“When people have access to mobile phones, they have assistive technology in their pockets and digital solutions at their fingertips.”
Today, apps like Seeing AI, Ava, and Be My Eyes allow users to access visual, auditory, or textual information in real time. Cloud syncing means that assistive settings and preferences can now travel with a person across devices. Voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant aren't just convenient for some, they're essential.
AT is no longer confined to specialized devices. It lives inside our everyday tech and increasingly, inside wearables.
Why Personalisation Matters
Despite efforts to define disability medically or legally, the experience of disability is deeply individual. So the support must be, too.
Two people with the same diagnosis might have completely different routines, preferences, and needs. One-size-fits-all solutions rarely work. That’s why the future of AT must be co-created, shaped by those who use it, not just those who design it.
The best assistive technology adapts with you. It learns what you need, and lets you customize how it shows up in your life, whether it’s a reading mode, vibration pattern, or voice interface.
The Future Is Already Here (And It Wears a Sixth Sense)
At Hope Tech, we believe the next chapter of assistive technology is about trust, simplicity, and everyday usefulness.
That’s why we’re building Sixth Sense, a wearable designed to support blind and visually impaired people in navigating the world with confidence.
It’s small, discreet, and intuitive, built to feel like second nature. No complicated setup, no added stress. Just intelligent guidance, right where you need it.
We’re currently piloting Sixth Sense with users across Europe and Africa, and their feedback is shaping everything from design to features to the smallest details.
Because like all good AT, it has to be built with and for the people who will use it.
Want to be part of this journey?
Join our waitlist or share your feedback, together, we can shape the future of assistive tech.
👉 Sign up here.
