2013年、私がまだパナソニックでビデオカメラのデザインをしていたころ、exiii設立前のメンバー3人で、それぞれの勤務後にオンラインで集まり、3Dプリンターで作る安価な電動義手handiiiを開発していました。handiiiはダイソンデザイン国際アワードで日本で初めて優秀賞を獲得し、多くのメディアで取り上げられることになりました。

その頃、森川さんから「こういう義手を探していた」と連絡をもらいました。森川さんは仕事の事故で腕を失い、義手を装着していたものの幻肢痛に悩まされていたそうです。handiiiをつけた瞬間の森川さんの笑顔は、今も忘れられません。その帰り道、開発メンバー全員が会社を辞めて、この義手の開発に専念し、森川さんにこの義手を使ってもらうことを決意し、これがexiiiの始まりとなりました。

その後、森川さんと共に開発を進め、handiiiをつけて展示会に立つと、多くの来場者が握手を求め、会場は驚きと喜びに包まれました。普通の義手ではそんなことは起こらない――デザインの力が人々の価値観を変える力を持つことを、この経験を通じて確信しました。この考えは、今もexiii designの原動力となっています。

In 2013, while I was still designing video cameras at Panasonic, three members who would later establish exiii gathered online after work to develop an affordable myoelectric prosthetic hand called handiii, made using a 3D printer. handiii became the first Japanese entry to win the prestigious Dyson Design Award and was featured in various media outlets.

Around that time, we were contacted by a man named Mr. Morikawa, who said, “This is the kind of prosthetic hand I’ve been looking for.” Mr. Morikawa had lost his arm in a work accident and had been using a prosthetic, but he suffered from phantom limb pain. I will never forget the smile on his face the moment he put on handiii. On the way home from that meeting, all of us in the development team decided to quit our jobs and devote ourselves to developing this prosthetic hand. We were determined to have Mr. Morikawa use it, and that decision marked the beginning of exiii.

After that, we continued development together with Mr. Morikawa, and when he wore handiii and stood at an exhibition, many visitors came up to shake his hand. It was a scene that wouldn’t happen with an ordinary prosthetic hand. Through this experience, I became certain that the power of design has the ability to change people’s perceptions. This belief remains the driving force behind exiii design today.