Turning On-Site Wisdom into Tools for Everyone. We Want to Host the '3D Printed Assistive Devices Design Contest 2026' to Support Global Daily Life with 3D Data! Crowdfunding Starts April 15 on READYFOR

H-tus Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Representative Directors: Ryo Hara / Go Ozawa), which supports social innovation through solving local issues and co-creation, in collaboration with the specified non-profit organization ICT Rehabilitation Research Group (Location: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Sonoko Hayashi), will host the '3D Printed Assistive Devices Design Contest 2026' (hereinafter 'this Contest') to deliver 'tools that turn the impossible into the possible' using 3D printer technology.

This Contest is an initiative that calls for designs of 'assistive devices' that support the daily lives of people with disabilities, the elderly, and children, and shares the results globally. To raise funds for hosting this contest, we will begin accepting support via the crowdfunding service 'READYFOR' starting at 11:00 AM on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.

Please note that this will be an 'All-or-Nothing' challenge, meaning that we will only receive the funds if we achieve our target amount of 500,000 yen within the designated period.

The specified non-profit organization ICT Rehabilitation Research Group (hereinafter ICT Rehabilitation Research Group) is an NPO where our representative, Hara, serves as the Vice Representative Director. The hosting of this contest and the execution of the crowdfunding campaign are projects in which our company is participating and supporting as part of our collaborative activities with the association.

Crowdfunding for hosting the '3D Printed Assistive Devices Design Contest'

■ Background: Saving 'Individual Daily Lives' Unreachable by Ready-Made Products Using Technology

Just as everyone's physical conditions are different, the shapes of the tools they need should inherently be different as well. However, traditional custom-made assistive devices are expensive and time-consuming, leading many people to face the reality of giving up, thinking 'I just can't do it.'

The ICT Rehabilitation Research Group, with whom we are collaborating for this contest, continues its activities of materializing the perfect tools for individuals using 3D printers with material costs of only about 100 yen. Thus far, the social significance and technical capabilities of this initiative have received high praise, including a special feature on TBS's 'news23' and receiving the President's Award at the 'STI for SDGs' Awards hosted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

[Reference] From TBS 'news23': Playing Monster Hunter with just the right hand!? Left arm disabled in a motorcycle accident... Self-taught creation of a '3D printed assistive device' resolves inconvenience. What were the results of applying to a specialized contest?
[Reference] From 'STI for SDGs' Awards: Co-creation of a sustainable society through the assistive device 3D platform COCRE HUB

■ The Core of the Project: A Mechanism to Turn On-Site Wisdom into 'Global Common Property'

The crowdfunding campaign currently being carried out by the ICT Rehabilitation Research Group seeks operational funds for the 2026 contest, continuing from 2023. The 60 to 80 application works gathered each year are not simply published; they undergo strict safety and durability screening by medical and technical experts before being registered in 'COCRE HUB', a digital library operated by the group.

[What is COCRE HUB?]
A platform that shares 3D data of assistive devices globally, allowing anyone to affordably acquire tools suited to them. Currently, it publishes over 300 types of practical data, which are also utilized in international support settings in Bhutan and Nepal through JICA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Through this contest, we aim to increase this library's collection to 1,000 types, striving to build a social infrastructure where anyone in the world can 'safely and affordably' print tools.

■ International Expansion: Taking Japan's Wisdom to the World, and the World's Wisdom to Japan

The ICT Rehabilitation Research Group is actively developing cross-border technical support, such as dispatching short-term experts to Bhutan via JICA and hosting the international joint event 'FABRIKARIUM TOKYO' with French organizations. The on-site wisdom of Japan gathered in this contest has the power to upgrade global welfare through data.

Scenes of activities overseas

[Reference] Asian Development Bank: Mainstreaming Assistive Technology through Makeathons: Cases in Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

■ Crowdfunding Implementation Overview
Title: We want to host the '3D Printed Assistive Devices Design Contest 2026'!
Page URL: https://readyfor.jp/projects/3d-jijogu-contest-2