A Review of Emerging Technologies for Children with Blindness and Visual Impairment: Opportunities, Challenges, and Future Directions
DOI: 10.54088/15/ARoETfCwBaVI:OCaFD
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54088/15/ARoETfCwBaVI:OCaFDKeywords:
τύφλωση, οπτική αναπηρία, χαμηλή όραση, υποστηρικτική τεχνολογία, τεχνητή νοημοσύνηAbstract
Purpose: To review emerging technologies that support learning, communication, orientation, mobility, and rehabilitation for children with blindness, visual impairment, and vision loss, with emphasis on tools relevant to educational participation and child development.
Methods: Structured narrative review of PubMed and Google Scholar-indexed literature, prioritizing systematic reviews, randomized trials, interventional studies, and clinically relevant observational research on pediatric low-vision rehabilitation, braille and tactile technologies, smartphone-based accessibility, tele-rehabilitation, orientation and mobility systems, and emerging artificial intelligence applications.
Results: The literature shows that technology is moving from stand-alone specialist devices to flexible, multimodal ecosystems that combine optical enhancement, digital magnification, text-to-speech, audio description, tactile access, smartphone accessibility, wearable sensors, and artificial intelligence. Evidence is strongest for tablets and digital magnification in school access, selected electronic visual aids, and structured rehabilitation programs. AI-enabled tools, including object-recognition and reading systems, show promise for functional independence, but the pediatric evidence base remains limited. Tele-rehabilitation and hybrid service models may extend access, especially where specialist services are scarce, while children with cerebral visual impairment need individualized, developmentally informed interventions.
Conclusions: Newer technologies can improve access to print, participation in classrooms, environmental exploration, and independence, but successful implementation depends on training, affordability, contextual adaptation, and integration within educational and rehabilitation services. Future pediatric research should focus on long-term outcomes, school use, and equitable access.
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