More Benches, Special Goggles: Taking Steps to Assist Older Travelers

Minnesota is purchasing “track chairs” with all-terrain treads for its parks that people with disabilities can use for free to access more areas and trails.

AI software BabyChecker is a portable ultrasound tool that can be accessed through smartphones and allows community health workers to easily and quickly detect pregnancy risks in rural areas where access to care is difficult. So far, over 20 community health workers have been trained to use the technology, and more than 2,000 pregnant women have been scanned using the BabyChecker app.

Virtual reality is being used to facilitate exposure therapy to help people with post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias by immersing them in virtual simulations to confront the problem at hand. Given its effectiveness, researchers and developers like XRHealth Inc. and BehaVR are working to make virtual-reality therapy more accessible by providing at-home treatment options.

Crowdsourcing data allows developers to help those with limited mobility find accessible routes. The AccessMap Seattle project, in collaboration with the Taskar Center for Accessible Technology at the University of Washington and OpenStreetMap, has tested and is improving a map where users can find and edit information about the elevation of rotes, sidewalks, and crosswalks to serve those who are challenged with their mobility.

Governments and schools are investing in technology to better serve people of different abilities. Innovations include text-to-911 for deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens, robotic telepresence for remote students, and the Vitals app, which allows families and caregivers to alert police officers of ways to help developmentally disabled family members.

New apps like Tap Tap See and Be My Eyes are helping blind people solve everyday problems by combining smartphone video technology with an army of volunteers. The app allows a blind individual to take a photo or video of an item that the person needs to "see"; it then either automatically interprets the photo and announces it aloud to the user, or, if the app itself cannot identify the object, sends it to a real person somewhere in the world who can.

Via legislative efforts, six U.S. prison systems and dozens of jails have made phone calls free for incarcerated people (with governments paying providers instead of families). This has resulted in 600 million additional calls, 6.4 billion more call minutes, over $620 million in savings for families, and improved mental health, family connections, and prison environments.

Several churches in North Central Ohio are successfully removing barriers for families with disabilities through specialized ministry programs. Champions Club at Storyside Church serves children with trained volunteers in sensory-friendly spaces adapted to each child's needs. Pure Joy at Ashland Grace Church uses a buddy system to serve 17+ participants with varying needs. And Wonderful Works Ministry extends this impact globally by providing free online coaching to churches worldwide, having reached 200 pastors.

Soar Experiences, a New York-based nonprofit, provides free guided outdoor tours for people with limited mobility using Trackchairs, rugged, battery-powered all-terrain wheelchairs that can traverse hiking trails. The program has recently expanded to 15 public hikes across New York and Connecticut, helping people living with disabilities connect with both nature and each other.

The residents of Etteln, Germany responded to rural decline and digital exclusion by organizing grassroots collective action—including volunteer-led fiber-optic installation and community-driven digital innovations—which reversed population loss, doubled school enrollment, earned global recognition as the world's smartest city, and created a replicable model now used by 500+ cities worldwide.