Research and Development Alliance for Competitiveness and Product Value Enhancement in the Hand Tools and Aids Industry

Through ongoing research and development (R&D), there has been great progress, including the development and improvement of medicine, health practices and nutrition that can extend lives. With the ageing population, it is important that the elderly require the help and assistance they may need to carry out their daily lives and have the best quality of life possible. Taiwan is an example of a country where the ageing population continues to grow, to the extent that Taiwan is an Aged Society. Distinguished Professor Dengchuan Cai is Director of the R&D Centre of Product Innovation and Assistive Technology, which is based within the Department of Industrial Design at the National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. He is passionate about R&D and its crucial role is pushing forward scientific enquiry. He and his team are working to develop tools and devices that can benefit the lives of the elderly. Cai is harnessing his background in human factors engineering and industrial design to apply knowledge in skills in functionality, useability and appearance to advance his investigations and wider R&D. One of many foci for the Centre is competitiveness and product value enhancement in the hand tools and aids industry, which is particularly beneficial for the elderly. A key invention for the Centre has been pillows with different heights for when a person is lying on their front or lying on their side to help maintain the natural posture of the spine when sleeping and thereby improve sleep quality. Another key technology is a dementia prevention bicycle built on the concept of reverse pedalling.