Special Issue on Assistive Technology Based on ICT/IRT for Aged Society

Although Japan and many other countries are going to the super-aging society quickly prior to the world, according to the latest investigations, there are a lot of elderly persons who do not suffer instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). This special issue made a broad call for papers on research and development of assistive technologies to support and enhance their employment and daily-life activity based on information-communication technology (ICT) and information-robotics technology (IRT). The topics of the special issue include wearable assistive device, power/skill assist, mobility assist, locomotive assist, communication assist, kinesthetic feedback assist, sensor/actuator technologies for assistive system, robotics and mechatronics to support elderly persons. We finally believe that these assistive technologies greatly contribute to support many elderly persons and make their lives more worth living. We thank the authors for their fine contributions and the reviewers for their generous time and effort. In closing, we thank the Editorial Board of the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics for helping make this issue possible.