The world is changing how it views differently abled bodies and design. No longer do we live in small, isolated communities of “same”. Today, we’re a global community of billions, with each of us appearing and operating in our own ways. What we need to match is a world where the most physically fit pro athlete and a person with high support needs can move into any public space and have the very same experience.

Take haptic hearing, for instance, which is a term that means hearing through touch. Researchers with the University of Malaga in Spain have created a technology to convert simple songs (like folk songs) into a vibration-based tangible stimuli (a reward to modify behavior). It does this by utilizing artificial physical stimuli to represent music, which then gets converted into vibrations by a special algorithm. This allows the vibrations to be “heard”.

To bring this idea to life, imagine this technology at a concert. Only, it’s not just for the rich, it’s built into our cell phones as an accessibility feature. In this scenario… if you are one of the 10% of people who had your hearing impacted by covid, that’s not an issue any longer with this capability. You get to enjoy the concert the same exact way anyone else would, with your cell phone, and it’s personal to you.

Before we bend your ear with anymore of our future fantasies, we’ll go over what accessibility technology is… technically speaking. This type of technology is really just around to ensure that all bodies have equivalent experiences within an environment, and it can be stand-alone or can work alongside other assistive technology. So… physical equipment, software, or anything that helps with function.

Now, we’ve had this kind of technology for a bit, and some of it is fantastic. But… we’re ready for the next-level stuff here. We’ve recently broken some walls that mean we’re getting extreme in what we can do, and we could not be more excited. To give you an idea of what could be in store for us, a man with a severed spinal cord was recently able to walk thanks to an electrical implant that basically allowed his muscles to talk to one another again.

To pan the camera out even further, we’re talking about technology that could restructure society by affording as many bodies as possible with as much autonomy as possible. That frees up caregivers and other resources for other tasks, and allows folks to live as autonomous, independent persons, which is what we all want. Such a system could be here now, called the Addison Virtual Caregiver.

Electronic Caregiver, Inc., a company that offers advanced telecare services, wants to change how people get their support needs met through their system. They recently announced Series A funding to the tune of $95 million. Their virtual caregiver is a Swiss army knife of cutting-edge artificial intelligence, mixed reality, and connected devices for personalized remote care. If they have their way, it’ll change everything.

Since our healthcare system, workers, and patients alike are struggling under the weight of the last few years, and accessing care is becoming increasingly frustrating, this is a nice vision. The Addison Virtual Caregiver system is a companion, helps with medication, handles reminders and data measurement, education, and emergency assistance. Hosted on AWS, the entire complex Addison solution has been certified in a “Well Architected Review”.

Imagine an amputee who knows his morning coffee is too hot because his prosthetic hand can feel temperature. Suddenly, we have a person not at risk of burns… because, once again, their own body is able to signal danger. That means autonomy, and it’s becoming real, thanks to Swiss researchers. Combine that with the electronic skin being developed at Stanford University, and you have impressive accessibility technology.

We’re seeing lots of innovation in accessibility technology, with lots of funds being put into the effort. For instance, Microsoft’s launch of the Microsoft Accessibility Nonprofit Tech Accelerator (NTA), which brings together disability-focused nonprofit organizations, enterprise technology, and grants. In this year’s grant round, the eye catchers will be those dedicated to equalizing our human experiences. Come back next week, we’ll have more from the world of IPOs.