Assistive Technologies for Individuals With Visual Impairment: Contribution of Design in the Field of Clothing

Abstract

According to data of World Health Organization, it was estimated that 253 million were visually impaired worldwide in 2017 (WHO, 2017). For those with moderate to total blindness and visual impairment, daily activities such as mobility, communication, education, clothing and shopping cannot be carried out independently. Assistive technologies (AT) offer solutions to contribute to the quality of life of those with visual impairments. Considering the daily obstacles faced by such individuals, as a prior step for design development of alternative ATs, this paper includes an overview of ATs. Since this overview addresses a lack of applications in clothing related AT, the following survey aims to acquire feedback from people with visual impairment, focusing on clothing related issues, with the aim of making improvements in design.