A transparent model for building accessible assistive technology through open research, community coordination, and long-term stewardship—not ownership.
ARIA is an open-source research and development initiative dedicated to creating accessible AI-powered assistive technology for individuals with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Our core AI models, hardware designs, research findings, and educational materials remain open and accessible to everyone—researchers, caregivers, makers, and institutions alike. We believe that technology addressing fundamental human dignity should not be locked behind proprietary barriers or priced beyond reach.
Value within the ARIA ecosystem is created not through ownership, but through coordination, contribution, and adoption. As more researchers build upon our work, more caregivers deploy our solutions, and more communities adapt our designs to local needs, the ecosystem grows stronger for everyone.
To align contributors, donors, and builders around long-term ecosystem goals, ARIA employs a tokenized participation model. This is not a financial instrument—it is a coordination mechanism designed to recognize contribution, enable governance, and ensure that those who help build ARIA have a voice in its future direction.
"Dignity should not be gated by cost. Research should not be gated by access. Governance should not be gated by capital."
Understanding how openness accelerates trust, safety, and adoption—especially in healthcare and aging populations.
All foundational research, hardware designs, AI models, and software interfaces developed by ARIA are released under permissive open-source licenses. This means:
This openness is not incidental—it is essential. Assistive technology for vulnerable populations must be transparent, auditable, and trustworthy. Families and healthcare providers need confidence that the systems they deploy are safe, well-understood, and free from hidden agendas.
While the core remains open, certain coordination functions are structured to ensure ARIA does not stagnate or fragment:
Voluntary certification standards ensure that community-built devices meet safety and performance benchmarks before deployment in care settings.
Community governance structures guide roadmap priorities, research directions, and resource allocation through transparent, participatory processes.
Donated funds are allocated through accountable, community-informed processes with public reporting on usage and outcomes.
These coordination layers exist to serve the open core—not to capture value from it. They ensure that ARIA remains a coherent, high-quality initiative rather than a fragmented collection of incompatible forks.
Coordinating a growing ecosystem through recognition, governance, and access—not ownership.
As ARIA grows beyond a single research project into a global ecosystem of researchers, builders, caregivers, and institutions, we need mechanisms to coordinate participation, recognize contribution, and enable collective decision-making.
ARIA Participation Tokens serve this coordination function. They are issued to recognize meaningful contributions to the ecosystem and enable participation in its governance.
ARIA Participation Tokens exist to coordinate a growing ecosystem, not to speculate on financial outcomes. They are governance and recognition instruments—tools for community stewardship, not vehicles for investment. Anyone approaching ARIA tokens with expectation of financial return has fundamentally misunderstood their purpose.
This model draws from decades of open-source governance experience. Like commit access in software projects or voting rights in cooperatives, ARIA tokens formalize the relationship between contribution and voice—ensuring that those who build the ecosystem help guide its direction.
Direct funding for research, prototypes, and pilots—with transparent allocation and measurable outcomes.
ARIA is not venture-backed. We do not have investors expecting returns. This is intentional—it ensures that every decision we make prioritizes the people we serve, not the financial interests of shareholders.
But research costs money. Prototypes require components. Pilots need coordination. Publications require time. Donations directly fund the work that transforms research into reality.
Components, 3D printing, assembly, and iteration on physical devices that will reach caregivers and patients.
Rigorous safety testing, durability assessment, and performance validation before community release.
Training speech recognition for dysarthric voices, improving conversational AI, optimizing for low-power hardware.
Ethically collected, consented datasets that enable the broader research community to advance Parkinson's care.
Real-world testing with families, feedback collection, and iterative improvement based on lived experience.
Peer review, publication fees, conference presentations, and scientific collaboration.
When you donate to ARIA, you are not purchasing a product or making an investment. You are becoming an early steward of an open, dignified future for aging and neurodegenerative care. Your contribution joins a community commitment to proving that accessible, high-quality assistive technology is possible—and that it should belong to everyone.
Every donation is tied to real-world outcomes and transparent milestones. We publish regular updates on fund allocation, progress toward goals, and lessons learned. This accountability is not bureaucratic overhead—it is fundamental respect for the trust donors place in us.
A clear path from research to deployment, with opportunities to contribute at every phase.
Establishing the research foundation and public visibility.
Success: Research foundation established. ARIA concepts validated against clinical evidence. Community can now study, critique, and build upon our work.
Building functional devices and testing with real users.
Success looks like: Working prototypes in the hands of 10+ caregivers. Documented feedback driving design iteration. Speech recognition accuracy exceeding 85% for dysarthric voices.
How donations help: Component costs, 3D printing, caregiver stipends, testing equipment.
Building governance structures and expanding participation.
Success looks like: Active governance with 100+ participating contributors. First institutional pilots in care facilities. Certified builder network emerging.
How to participate: Contribute research, build prototypes, translate documentation, coordinate local pilots.
Expanding access globally through partnerships and manufacturing.
Success looks like: ARIA devices deployed in care facilities across multiple countries. Measurable improvement in patient outcomes. Sustainable ecosystem funding model proven.
ARIA is designed to earn trust slowly and keep it permanently.
Working with vulnerable populations—elderly individuals, those with neurodegenerative conditions, their families and caregivers—demands the highest ethical standards. Trust, once broken, cannot be rebuilt. We commit to practices that earn and maintain that trust.
Public quarterly reports on donation allocation, expenditures, and fund balances. Every dollar accounted for, every decision explained.
Monthly progress updates on development milestones, challenges encountered, and lessons learned. Honest assessment, not marketing spin.
Informed consent for all data collection. Privacy by design. No data sales. Community oversight of research protocols.
Major decisions made through transparent, participatory processes. Contributors have voice proportional to contribution, not capital.
Claims backed by evidence. Limitations acknowledged. Peer review welcomed. No hype, no exaggeration, no false promises.
Documentation written for real people, not just experts. Multiple languages. Multiple formats. No one excluded by jargon.
"We measure success not by growth metrics or market capture, but by dignity preserved, independence restored, and caregivers supported."
If you believe dignity should not be gated by cost, your contribution helps turn research into reality. Whether through donation, development, research, or simply sharing our work—you become part of a community building a more accessible future.
Researchers, caregivers, makers, and institutions—there is a place for you here.
Not as customers. Not as investors. As stewards.