One billion people, or 15% of the world's population, experience some form of disability. Disability spreads are higher for developing countries. One‑fifth of the estimated global total, or between 110 million and 190 million people, experience significant disabilities. Assistive technology seems to be a natural answer to it and is becoming more and more in demand. Due to AT people start to lead more positive lives based on social interactions. They regain the sense of control over their lives, which highly influences the quality of their existence. There are a number of special devices that allow the disabled to enjoy more independent lives.

Wheelchairs and walking frames are used by people who find it hard or impossible to walk because of injury, illness, or disability. Nowadays, they come in a number of variations. Wheelchairs can be manually, electrically propelled, or pushed by the caregivers and allow users to climb the stairs and perform activities such as dressing, feeding, or bathing by means of them. When it comes to walking frames, they are eagerly used by people who need support to maintain balance while moving. More and more often they are height‑adjustable with wheels on the front.

Patients with impaired mobility need transfer devices in order to move. The most common ones are transfer benches, sit‑to‑stand lifts, transfer boards used for getting from a bed to a wheelchair. For those who are not able to move and are dependent on their caregivers, a patient lift is a good alternative as it enables safe lifting for passive patients with minimum effort for caregivers. People with motor function struggles need proper equipment that will allow them to sit and stand safely to bear weight on their legs without risking a fall.

Exoskeleton technology is believed to allow human capabilities to go beyond the limits. These are mechanical devices that are attached to the body for motion assistance. It is a kind of external frame that is worn to support, cover and protect the patient, giving a greater level of strength and endurance. It is advisable to use it to assist movement for lifting and holding heavy things, lowering back stress at the same time. Sometimes it is called wearable robots, which looks familiar to Iron Man fans.

A prosthesis, or a prosthetic limb, is an artificial part used to replace the body part that was lost by injury or from birth. Most commonly they replace arms or legs, but it might be surprising to find out that there are also bones, eyes, or teeth replaced.

Globally, at least 2.2 billion people have vision impairments. It is estimated that in almost half of these cases, it might have been prevented if provided medical care on time. Many patients with this health issue remain independent; they live, work, and use many tools and techniques every day. Assistive technology has a great number of products that seem attractive to these people.

Screen Readers are to help a person access electronic information with no barriers. This is software on the computer that conveys displayed information through voice (text‑to‑speech) or braille. Simply speaking, it helps people with vision difficulties to access websites via audio. Another assistance is Braille, a very common system of raised dots which are formed into units. These units are called braille cells that are read by people with their hands.

Another useful device for visually impaired people surely is a tactile keyboard. That’s a keyboard with some bumpy dots that help the person find needed keys by touch. A large‑print keyboard has oversized letters printed on the keys for easy typing and less eye strain.

Currently, more than 1.5 billion people live with hearing loss, which makes up nearly 20 percent of the worldwide population. The impacts of hearing loss are very broad. They include low communication skills, social isolation, and loneliness. Many children give up school as they are not able to perform well. The use of assistive technology provides people with different solutions to allow them to receive and communicate information. The most common device is a hearing aid which is created to make speech more coherent for the user.

Assistive technology in sports is rapidly growing. People don’t want to be left behind with their disabilities and they do their best to fulfil their ambitions in different fields, including sports. Existing sports are changed to let people enjoy participating in tournaments and facing challenges. All‑terrain wheelchairs or adaptive bicycles are commonly used by disabled athletes. Due to them, people can compete in marathons in their racing wheelchairs.