Health ministry to showcase 23 assistive devices at Seoul fair in October

The health ministry said Tuesday that the National Rehabilitation Center will hold its annual assistive device fair at Coex in Seoul from Oct. 21 to 23, showing 23 products developed under a government research program that runs from 2024 to 2028.

The exhibition is organized by the center's assistive device commercialization research project. It will run alongside Reha·Homecare 2026, a trade show covering home care, rehabilitation and welfare.

The most prominent item is an active-avoidance wheelchair that can be fitted to electric wheelchairs already on sale. Using artificial intelligence, it detects obstacles and automatically slows or stops the chair.

Also on display is an electronically controlled hydraulic prosthetic thigh, built around Korean body types and daily habits. The device is designed to prevent falls and support individually tailored walking, helping people who have lost a leg above the knee to manage daily life on their own.

Four low-technology devices round out the lineup: a modular handle, a set of dishwashing aids, a mobility safety device and an input aid. All are simple enough to be produced with locally available equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters.

The exhibits are grouped into three areas — mobility, walking and safety; communication and cognition; and devices tailored to individual users. Anyone registered to attend the trade show may view them. The organizers have laid out the hall with wheelchair users in mind, arranging the floor so that stand-alone installations do not block movement.

"We will continue research and development on the assistive devices introduced here, and we will actively push for practical use so that people with disabilities and older adults can use them in their daily lives after they are verified and improved in real-world settings," said Kim Dong-a, director of the National Rehabilitation Center.