Sound-based assistive technology supporting "seeing", "hearing" and "speaking" for the disabled and the elderly

With a rapid increase of a population rate of the elderly, disabled people also have been increasing in Japan. Over a period of 40 years, author has developed a basic research approach of assistive technology, especially for people with seeing, hearing, and speaking disorders. Although some of the required tools have been practically used for the disabled in Japan, the author has experienced how insufficient a function of the tools is for supporting them. Moreover, the author has been impressed by amazingly potential ability of the human brain that compensates for the disorders. In this report, the author shows some compensation abilities formed by “brain plasticity”, and also shows extraordinary ability such as voice imitation of mynah bird and obstacle sense of the blind. Furthermore, the author introduces six assistive tools borne by solving mystery of the compensation function and the extraordinary animal. Finally, the author emphasizes that these assistive tools will contribute to design a new human interface that may support the elderly as well as the disabled.