The document discusses the development of cognitive assistants to help visually impaired people access real-world information and navigate the world. It describes technologies like localization, object recognition, mapping, and voice interaction that cognitive assistants can leverage. The goal is for assistants to augment human abilities by recognizing environments, objects, and providing contextual information. The document outlines a research project to develop such a cognitive navigation assistant and argues that accessibility needs have historically spurred innovations that become widely useful.