Assistive wearables: Opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Wearable technologies are body-worn devices, including smart clothes, e-textiles, and accessories. Wearables embed computational capabilities in garments to provide information, services and resources for end users. By being continuously worn, promptly accessible, and unobtrusive, wearable devices are well-suited to serve as assistive technologies meeting the needs of users with diverse abilities. For neurodiverse users specifically, belts have been explored to control impulsive speaking, smart clothes (such as t-shirts and caps) have been employed for emotional expression, and badges have been assessed to raise proximity awareness. Among diverse form factors, wrist-worn devices stand out due to their conventional look and popular usage. They have been explored for emotional regulation, touch monitoring, stress release, and self-regulation. Despite a growth in research and development of wearables, their application as assistive technologies for neurodiverse users is still underex-plored. Challenges emerge on designing for heterogeneous users’ profiles, automating assistance, increasing accuracy, and managing users’ privacy. This paper discusses the main opportunities and affordances for wearables to support neurodiverse users as well as the grand challenges in the field.