Designers Hsin-Jou Huang, Szu-Ying Lai and Chia-Ning Hsu help people with disabilities to fulfil their sexual needs with a three-part masturbation tool that includes a bodysuit, a mask and a remote control.

The sex aid kit, called Ripple, is designed for people with moderate to severe functional limitations, who require caregivers to assist them in day-to-day tasks.

It works to stimulate all the senses, including touch, sight, sound and smell, through three different objects: a cushioned, inflatable body suit, a remote with a receiver, and an eye mask with earphones, which also releases pheromones.

As the designers explained, from their experience in Taiwan, the family usually plays the role of caregiver, which leads to ignorance of the person with the disability's sexual needs due to embarrassment.

Ripple only requires the carer to help the user with putting on and taking off the product, granting them full privacy when in use.

Huang, Lai and Hsu hope the tools will not only help those in need of them, but will also raise more public awareness about the lack of sexual products available to people with disabilities.

"The right for disabled people to fulfil their sexual need has been ignored, and is considered as taboo in some regions," explained the designers.

"In Taiwan, under its conservative social atmosphere about sex, the family of the person with a disability still discriminate on the issue of the right to sex," they continued.

"Therefore, Ripple provides the protection of privacy to the disabled and reduces the involvement of caregiver, which can raise the willingness to support the disabled to fulfil their sexual needs."

"The kit aims to give the same amount of attention to the sexual rights of disabled people that is given to non-disabled people," the trio added. "Users can rely on Ripple to suffice their needs mentally and physically."

The body suit features heated, inflatable air cushions positioned at the typically sensitive areas of the body, such as the breasts and thighs. These gradually inflate to put pressure on certain body parts that simulate the feeling of human touch.

Other stimulations such as vibration, for women, and pressure in the genital area, for men, are also incorporated into the body suit.

Ripple also includes a facial mask to enhance the experience, which boasts three main purposes – the first being to block out any artificial light.

Secondly, accompanying earphones on the mask play ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response) sounds to promote relaxation, and lastly the mask releases pheromones to reduce any anxiety and arouse the user's sexual desire.

At the end of each session, the cushions in the body suit – more of which are positioned on the shoulders and stomach – inflate and heat up to mimic the feeling of a hug, helping the user feel at ease after an orgasm.

Sensors embedded in the clothes also allow the user to choose how they want the air cushions to work using the remote.

In a similar project, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Nienke Helder designed a set of sensory objects that can be used to rehabilitate women affected by sexual abuse. 

From a brush that imitates the feeling of a caress to a sensor that monitors the user's breathing, each of the objects encourage women to explore what feels good to them in order to rebuild a sense of security about their bodies.