Welcome to Assistive AI Lab Where AI Meets Inclusion

At Assistive AI Lab, we are dedicated to developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to enhance accessibility and empower individuals with diverse needs. Our interdisciplinary team passionately pursues innovative research and practical solutions, bridging the gap between advanced AI techniques and inclusive, real-world applications.

Our mission is to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits everyone, particularly those traditionally underserved by technology. By focusing on accessibility, usability, and human-centered design, our lab creates transformative tools and systems that facilitate greater independence, inclusion, and quality of life.

We specialize in:

  • Assistive Technology Development: Creating intelligent solutions that improve daily living, communication, and mobility.
  • Inclusive AI Systems: Ensuring AI applications are designed to be universally accessible and beneficial.
  • Human-Centered Innovation: Collaborating closely with users and communities to develop meaningful, impactful technologies.

Join us in shaping a future where artificial intelligence genuinely meets the needs of all individuals, fostering a society that is truly inclusive and accessible.

  • Researchers teach an AI to write better chart captions

    Chart captions that explain complex trends and patterns are important for improving a reader’s ability to comprehend and retain the data being presented. And for people with visual disabilities, the information in a caption often provides their only means of understanding the chart. But writing effective, detailed captions is a labor-intensive process. While autocaptioning…

  • Speedy robo-gripper reflexively organizes cluttered spaces

    When manipulating an arcade claw, a player can plan all she wants. But once she presses the joystick button, it’s a game of wait-and-see. If the claw misses its target, she’ll have to start from scratch for another chance at a prize. The slow and deliberate approach of the arcade claw is similar to…

  • MIT D-Lab students collaborate with adaptive design center in Mexico

    Participating in an intensive three-week lab in Yucatán, Mexico, changed how MIT junior Penelope Herrero-Marques views her role as an engineer. The January trip was the first step in a new partnership between MIT D-Lab and Perkins School for the Blind, a Massachusetts-based national service provider and international nonprofit that strives to make education…

  • Learning challenges shape a mechanical engineer’s path

    Before James Hermus started elementary school, he was a happy, curious kid who loved to learn. By the end of first grade, however, all that started to change, he says. As his schoolbooks became more advanced, Hermus could no longer memorize the words on each page, and pretend to be reading. He clearly knew…

  • New collaboration aims to strengthen orthotic and prosthetic care in Sierra Leone

    MIT’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics has entered into a collaboration with the government of Sierra Leone to strengthen the capabilities and services of that country’s orthotic and prosthetic (O&P) sector. Tens of thousands of people in Sierra Leone need orthotic braces and artificial limbs, but access to such specialized medical care in this…

  • 2.009 makes its “Move!” onstage

    On Monday evening, inside a rainbow-lit Kresge Auditorium, a capacity crowd whooped and hollered and shook their pom-poms along to one of the most anticipated shows of the year: the final student presentations of 2.009 (Product Engineering Processes). Known on campus as “two-double-oh-nine,” the popular fall semester course challenges teams of undergraduates over three…