Implementing assistive technology on wearable computers

What might seem perfectly intuitive to a young rehabilitation engineer designing assistive devices might not be intuitive at all to a disabled or elderly person experiencing a serious loss of function for the first time. When designers understand the complex nature of disabilities, they are more likely to meet the disabled users' needs. Using the results of his work in designing assistive technology, the author describes impaired people's needs and offers design strategies to accommodate them. He also presents his research to develop a wearable computer-based orientation and wayfinding aid for the severely visually impaired.