Design for Inclusive Sports and Rehabilitation with Assistive Technologies Introduction to the Special Thematic Session

The convergence of self-tracking technologies, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and eXtended Reality (XR) is rapidly transforming the design of assistive systems for inclusive sports and rehabilitation. The growing availability of low-cost wearable sensors, the maturation of deep-learning models for biosignal interpretation, and the diffusion of consumer-grade immersive hardware have created the conditions for a new generation of adaptive, personalized, and participatory solutions. This Special Thematic Session (STS) brings together multidisciplinary contributions addressing accessibility, adaptive training, and user-centered design across diverse contexts, from education to sport-specific applications. This paper introduces a unifying framework for AI-driven XR ecosystems integrating multimodal sensing, virtual coaching, and inclusive interaction design. It further contextualizes the accepted contributions within the STS, highlighting their complementary roles: sensory substitution for inclusive sailing, accessible physical activity frameworks in primary education, AI-driven immersive training systems, and semantic interoperability between assistive technology standards. Taken together, these works demonstrate how data-driven, adaptive, and inclusive technologies can support diverse users by enhancing participation, engagement, autonomy, and functional outcomes. The paper contributes a holistic perspective on the future of assistive technologies for sports and rehabilitation, emphasizing the importance of integrating technological innovation with human-centered design, clinical evidence, and standardized interoperability frameworks.