A company representative demonstrates how a bed designed for those physically handicapped works.

The disabled will be able to find a range of hi-tech aids to make life better

Governments should develop technology that can help disabled people, says Cheng Hock, president of the World Blind Union's Asia-Pacific Region.

Technology can provide people with disabilities the chance to enjoy more convenient and productive lives.

Monthian Buntan, president of the Thailand Association of the Blind, also wants people with disabilities to have more access to information on the Internet as 90 per cent of websites in Thailand are not available for disabled people.

At the current International Convention for Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology (i-CREATe 2008), a whole range of hi-tech equipment is provided for the disabled, he said.

Creative equipments

The technology includes various kinds of wheelchairs and beds that suite people with different disabilities, plus communication aids, digital talking book recorders and players, cochlear implants, hi-tech prostheses and keyboards for the blind.

Creative equipment and software for the disabled designed by students are also on show at the convention. Researchers and physicians will be sharing their expertise and experience on how to rehabilitate the disabled and take care of the elderly.

The convention ends tomorrow  at the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel and is organised by Thailand's National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre and Singapore Therapeutic. It is supported by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.