The so-called handicapped are only a special case of human imperfection -- all humans are handicapped by nature, without being aware of it.
The origin of technology is founded on this human condition: its aim is to extend and improve our natural abilities. We build ships and airplanes because we can't swim well enough or fly. We construct cars because our legs are too slow, and we create computers because we cannot carry out calculations as quickly and accurately as machines.
So far, product evolution has been based on concepts that recast human abilities in a "mechatronic" (mechanical-electronic) way. The results are more or less smart tin cans: robots. But now we are on the threshold of a new era of object "animation," in the original Greek sense of the word (anima means soul or mind). The core technologies of the future will transform the appearance of our daily environment. In collaboration with biotechnology (especially genetic engineering), the fields of neurology, nanotechnology and information technology will guide us step by step into a world filled with sentient objects.