Visualisation meets assistive tech: VR, AR, digital materialisation and the tools for imagining and supporting the full potential of human communication

This Keynote Paper provides overview of recent work in the areas of Augmented Cognition, Inclusive Design and Creative Technology Innovation conducted by SMARTlab and the Inclusive Design Research Centres of Ireland and Canada. Projects underway, including several Marie Curie Post-Doctoral projects in the area of Assistive Technologies for People with Intellectual Disabilities-Autism, have applied novel uses of Virtual Worlds, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Future Foresighting Models and tools, and Drones in interdisciplinary research to enhance and extend the human potential of ALL people, regardless of intellectual, cognitive, physical or other abilities.). The Keynote Presentation for VSMM included sections on Augmented Reality, The Ethics of Virtual Worlds and Assistive Technology Tools, Avatars, Drones and Health Visualisation projects, which are discussed in other papers published in these proceedings. This paper focuses on the span of visualisation and virtual worlds projects conducted by SMARTlab and the IDRC in recent years, including some novel applications created by as well as for communities of people with Autism and other medical conditions, and on the potential of 3d printing and digital materialization using novel materials to push forward the boundaries and to reframe the field of VSMM.