The Bluetooth community is committed to making the world a more accessible place, removing barriers and enriching lives through greater independence, participation, and belonging, assisting people of all abilities to move more freely and engage more confidently. From enabling smart wheelchairs and fall-detection wearables to screen readers and smart glasses, Bluetooth® accessibility solutions are empowering individuals with visual, mobility, speech, and hearing accessibility challenges to better navigate everyday life.
When connection becomes inclusion
Recently, with help from ABI Research, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) released a new market research note, When connection becomes inclusion: How Bluetooth is redefining accessibility, that looks at how Bluetooth® technology is supporting people with varying accessibility needs to enable a more inclusive world. The paper highlights the diversity of Bluetooth assistive products that can aid those faced with visual, mobility, speech, hearing, and other accessibility challenges. It also explains why Bluetooth® technology is uniquely positioned to support accessibility and serves as a call to action to encourage more product manufacturers to create new assistive products that can enable a better future for all.
Improving visual accessibility
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 2.2 billion people have some form of visual impairment. For many years, Bluetooth® technology has helped those impacted experience the world with more confidence and independence thanks to the availability of a wide range of visual accessibility assistive products, such as reading-assistance devices, large-print accessibility keyboards, and text-to-voice products. Meanwhile, new product categories, such as smart glasses, have the potential to bring benefits to users faced with different types of accessibility challenges.
Learn more about how Bluetooth technology is improving visual accessibility.
Empowering mobility accessibility
Bluetooth® technology is also transforming how people faced with mobility challenges can interact with the world around them, enabling individuals to move more freely, participate in a range of work and leisure activities, communicate more effectively with family and friends, and live more independently. This includes a range of assistive human-interface devices (HIDs), mobility aids, prosthetics, and bionic devices.
Learn more about how Bluetooth technology is empowering mobility accessibility.
Supporting speech accessibility
According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 10 percent of the adult population in the United States has a speech, language, and/or voice impairment. These can lead to negative impacts in terms of independence, social interactions, academic performance, employment prospects, mental health, and broader health outcomes. To assist users with speech accessibility challenges, there are a range of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices on the market, many of which utilize Bluetooth® technology, that can enable users to communicate regardless of their individual challenges.
Learn more about how Bluetooth technology is supporting speech accessibility.
Enhancing hearing accessibility
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1.5 billion people around the globe (nearly 20 percent of the population) are living with hearing loss. This is anticipated to grow to 2.5 billion as early as 2050, with 700 million people expected to require hearing support in the form of assistive listening technology, among other interventions. Bluetooth® technology has played a significant role in hearing accessibility for over a decade, and, recently, Bluetooth® LE Audio and Auracast™ broadcast audio have redefined what’s possible in hearing assistance, making it easier for people to connect with each other, our communities, and the world.
Learn more about how Bluetooth technology is enhancing hearing accessibility.
Creating a more accessible world
Thanks to its diverse member ecosystem, ubiquitous presence in mobile and computing devices, low power consumption, audio capabilities, dedicated accessibility features, and continued technological innovation, Bluetooth® technology is uniquely capable of enabling an extensive range of assistive products, facilitating greater visual, mobility, speech, and hearing accessibility around the world.
To learn more, download the latest market research: When connection becomes inclusion: How Bluetooth is redefining accessibility.
And check real-world examples to see how Bluetooth technology is being used to help create a more accessible world.
