The research Unit for Visually Impaired People (U-VIP) studies the development of perception and brain functioning in children and adults to improve the quality of life in people with and without disabilities. In particular, the group's studies focus on investigating and improving cognitive abilities such as spatial cognition and learning skills and memory, orientation, and mobility. The group's activities can be divided into two primary purposes, scientific and technological. The scientific purpose is to increase knowledge about the perceptual mechanisms that allow individuals with and without sensory disabilities to adapt to the demands of the environment. On the other hand, the technological purpose of the group is to develop tools to improve learning in children with typical development and to compensate for perceptual difficulties of individuals with sensory disabilities. The research is based on three cornerstones to satisfy both scientific and technological aims. Firstly, the study of the brain to know how it develops and how to integrate different sensory information to build a representation of its surroundings. Secondly, the development of simple technologies that start from the users' requests and exploit communication channels already existing and used by the user, and finally, the planning of dedicated learning and rehabilitation programs for all ages and visual and linguistic disabilities. In summary, our research exploits the study of humans with typical and atypical development to develop technologies built to improve the quality of life of people with and without sensory disabilities.