Disability is the inability to accommodate to the world as it is currently designed” (Vanderheiden , 1997, p. 2013). What is needed to address this exclusion is more attention to empathic design that will help older people to lead an independent and dignified life. Over the past few decades, there is a growing interest in tackling the problems associated with the ageing population. Although these efforts have increased awareness and scale of the problem, on the ground, older people are still facing significant challenges to functioning optimally at home. In this talk, I would like to share my thoughts and research towards addressing the challenges faced by the ageing population in leading an independent and dignified life.