Product Reviews

New Technology Creating Opportunities for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in improving the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Advances in digital tools, artificial intelligence, and assistive technology are creating new opportunities for communication, education, and independence. These innovations aim to remove barriers that people with intellectual disabilities face and provide practical support to help them live more […]

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Assistive tech tools changing classrooms for learners with disabilities in 2026.

Inclusive education in South Africa is no longer just policy, it’s practice. And in 2026, assistive technology (AT) is becoming one of the most powerful tools helping learners with disabilities access education with dignity and independence. From under-resourced public schools to private learning environments, technology is reshaping what participation looks like. For special needs educators,

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Shape Africa’s assistive tech future

Retina South Africa invites you to help shape the future of assistive technologies across Africa. On 12 June 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) is hosting an online stakeholder session focused on updating its Priority Assistive Products List (APL)—a vital guide that recommends essential assistive devices, such as hearing aids, wheelchairs, and communication tools, for

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Oxford researchers develop breathing-powered prosthetic hand

A new prosthetic hand powered by breathing has been developed for children and teenagers. The BBC News Oxford Researchers at the University of Oxford say the new air-powered hand is “lightweight, low maintenance and easy to use”. The device uses breathing to power a small purpose-built Tesla turbine and controls prosthetic finger movements. The findings

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Self-taught Kenyan cousins invent bio-robotic prosthetic limbs

In the suburbs of Kikuyu in Kenya’s Kiambu County, 29-year-old Moses Kiuna and his cousin David Gathu are fiddling with wires and electric cables in their workshop, their grandmothers’ former granary. By Sheila Mwalili/ Images: Sheila Mwalili and Anadolu Agency They have been doing this since they were children — dismantling toys, radios and TV

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Smart glasses let deaf people see conversations in real-time

What if everything you said was immediately subtitled and shared with deaf people around you? That seems to be the idea behind XRAI Glass, a new software solution being paired with Nreal’s AR glasses. The software allows users to connect the glasses directly to their Android phone and then have conversations around them subtitled directly

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Assistive tech startup led by former NASA engineer uses an AI ‘parrot’ to help people with disabilities

BY CHARLOTTE SCHUBERT David Hojah is a former NASA engineer, but his real passion is healthcare. Growing up, he saw his family members taking care of his aunt, who had multiple sclerosis, and his uncle, who had a spinal cord injury. Now, he’s developing tech to help people with disability have more independence. The company

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Improving STEM access for those with disability

Customised electronic toolkits designed to improve STEM accessibility for those with intellectual disabilities have been developed by Monash University researchers. TronicBoards, created by researchers from the Faculty of Information Technology (IT), are a range of customised colour-coded printed circuit boards with large controls and recognisable symbols adapted to facilitate easy circuit-making for diverse intellectual abilities.

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The world’s most lifelike bionic hand

Comfortable, intuitive and precise, bebionic continues to transform the lives and abilities of amputees around the world. From helping them perform simple tasks like tying their shoelaces, to giving them back their control and pride. With 14 different grip patterns and hand positions, the bebionic artificial hand is designed to handle almost anything that you

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The Apps That Are Redefining Accessibility

For people with disabilities, the digital divide predates the pandemic. But new tools are opening new pathways for participation. Last year, Google introduced a virtual Braille keyboard for Android to allow the visually impaired to read and write on smartphones. When Covid-19 catapulted society into a new age of remote work, school and life, educators, economists, and

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