Assistive technology : from virtuality to reality : AAATE 2005

The title of this book points towards the difficulty encountered in research and development carried out by laboratories to reach the users. "From Virtuality to Reality" aims at alerting developers so that they pay a particular attention to the outcome of their work. Inventive research as well as new technologies which have a very high potential in the field of Assistive Technology are described in this publication. Despite the fact that recent products take more and more frequently into account the specific needs of the handicapped people, there remains a long road ahead until these products become available to everyone. Assistive technology has to adapt to today's fast technological developments. Because new technologies are developing too rapidly, there is no choice but to adapt to this ceaseless evolution. The elderly or handicapped people are facing more and more difficulties in interacting with the assistive technology experts. Technology is an essential component of the activity but it is even more important to take into account the human factor if the aim is to enable users to benefit from assistive technologies. As a consequence, developers must work with a unique objective based on a user-centered approach. This requires a multidisciplinary collaboration which is one of the prime movers of their research and also one of the keys of success.