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Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Study on
Technology Trends and
Future Perspectives
within
Assistive Technologies
Final Report
NOTICE
This report has been prepared by a study team under contract to the European
Commission. The study team was administered by the Information Society Directorate
General, Unit for Applications relating to Persons with Special needs, including the
Disabled and the Elderly. This document does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the
European Commission and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any
use which is made of the information contained in it. This report is not an Official
Publication of the European Commission.
Price Partnership (Price Partnership Limited)
and
iRv(Institute for Rehabilitation Research)
Final report October 2000 page 1 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Information Society Directorate General
LEGAL NOTICE
Neither the European Commission nor any person acting
on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use which might be made of the
following information
Available on the Internet at
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ka1/special_needs/library.htm
Copyright: European Commission
Final report October 2000 page 2 of 166
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Contents
1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 5
2 Recommendations .................................................................................................. 7
2.1 Technology Transfer ....................................................................................... 7
2.2 Current Assistive Technology Bottlenecks ...................................................... 9
2.3 Future Technologies ....................................................................................... 9
2.4 Observations from the tele-workshop ........................................................... 10
3 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 13
3.1 Task 1 ........................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Task 2 – Survey, part 1 and part 2 ................................................................ 13
3.3 Task 3 – Analysis and Projections ................................................................ 13
3.4 Task 4 – Recommendations and Review ..................................................... 13
4 Social Trends ........................................................................................................ 15
4.1 Europe........................................................................................................... 15
4.2 Japan ............................................................................................................ 24
4.3 USA ............................................................................................................... 33
4.4 Conclusions................................................................................................... 41
5 Technology Transfer ............................................................................................. 45
5.1 Terms of reference ....................................................................................... 45
5.2 Introduction ................................................................................................... 46
5.3 Characteristics of the assistive technology market ...................................... 47
5.4 The roles of the actors in the AT market....................................................... 49
5.5 Mechanisms (models) of technology transfer ............................................... 50
5.6 Initiatives in USA ........................................................................................... 53
5.7 Initiatives in Europe ....................................................................................... 58
5.8 Initiatives in Japan......................................................................................... 65
5.9 Conclusions................................................................................................... 70
6 Current Assistive Technology and Developments ................................................ 72
6.1 Section I: user-technology interaction ........................................................... 72
6.2 Section II: interpersonal communication ....................................................... 80
6.3 Section III: Supporting users in everyday life ................................................ 88
6.4 Conclusions................................................................................................... 93
7 Developments in mainstream technology and future scenarios for assistive
technology ............................................................................................................. 97
7.1 The Explosive Growth of the Internet ............................................................ 97
7.2 Mobile Communications -The Convergence of Cable and
Radio Telecommunications......................................................................... 102
7.3 The Convergence of TV, Telecommunications and Computers ................. 106
7.4 Virtual Reality .............................................................................................. 109
7.5 Interfaces .................................................................................................... 112
7.6 Miniaturisation ............................................................................................. 115
7.7 Sensors ....................................................................................................... 117
7.8 Advanced Materials..................................................................................... 123
7.9 Robotics ...................................................................................................... 125
7.10 Energy and Battery Technology .................................................................. 129
7.11 Transport ..................................................................................................... 130
7.12 Conclusions................................................................................................. 133
8 Annex: Technology Transfer Models ................................................................. 136
8.1 Veterans Administration Technology Transfer model ................................. 136
8.2 Technology Transfer Mechanisms in USA.................................................. 139
8.3 Technology Transfer – Subsidy Arrangements in Selected European
Countries ..................................................................................................... 141
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9 Annex: Assistive Technology .............................................................................. 145
9.1 Application domains and areas of research ............................................... 145
10 Annex: Past and Future Conferences on Assistive Technology ......................... 149
10.1 Past Conferences (June1998-June 2000) .................................................. 149
10.2 Future Conferences (July 2000-2001) ........................................................ 150
10.3 References (for chapter 10) ........................................................................ 152
11 Annex: Tele-workshop ........................................................................................ 153
11.1 Methodology & Participants ........................................................................ 153
11.2 Discussion .................................................................................................. 154
12 References.......................................................................................................... 159
What is “AT”?
Assistive Technology = technical aid is any product, instrument, equipment or
technical system used by a disabled person, especially produced or generally
available, preventing, compensating, relieving or neutralizing the impairment,
disability or handicap.
(Source: ISO 9999: 1998)
The scope of the term Assistive Technology (AT), as used in this study, covers the
range of assistive devices that use technologies which would normally fall within
the scope of the European Commission Information Society Directorate General
sector, “Applications for Persons with Special needs, including the Disabled and
the Elderly”. This would include:
Means of access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT);
Integrated systems supporting the activities of independent living, education,
work, leisure, mobility and training;
Information and Communication systems for enhancing the efficiency and
effectiveness of services supporting independent living;
Applications of manipulation and control technology;
Technology supporting assessment, restoration and enhancement of function.
The study excluded medical research trends and genetic engineering. In
transport, the scope of the study is limited to personal mobility.
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1 Executive Summary
This study, commissioned by the European Commission, looks at current
developments in mainstream technology in Europe, Japan and the USA, and likely
developments in the next decade, and discusses what this could mean for
assistive technology. Its aim is to help the European Commission decide where
best to target resources to stimulate the development of assistive technology.
The study includes a look at social trends in the three economic areas: Europe,
Japan and the USA, and finds that they have had very different cultures and
values, but these are beginning to converge as a result of globalisation.
Europe has had the best developed welfare states or social security systems in
which disadvantaged and non-working citizens have been provided with support.
But there has been a cost. Taxation as a proportion of GDP is higher in most
European countries than in Japan and the USA. As demand for services,
particularly healthcare, has risen steadily European countries are looking at how
best to fund services and to encourage citizens to take more personal
responsibility for contributing to, and selecting, care and health services that meet
their individual needs. Many of the services are now being organised and run by
private, rather than state-run organisations. And while many of the care services
and assistive devices are still purchased by state organisations or insurance
companies, a private market is developing too. These changes are likely to
stimulate the markets for care services (particularly home care) and for assistive
technology. There is a need for quality assurance in the system. For assistive
technology, a lesson can be drawn from the USA, which has spawned a vast array
of devices aimed at individual purchasers, some of which are dubious in quality or
their ability to do the job.
Japan has been a very centralised country, where the collective society was more
important than the individual, but this is beginning to change. Disabled people
were not really acknowledged in the past, although again this is now changing. In
the last decade Japan fought to protect its culture from outside influence, but is
now embracing the effects of globalisation.
In contrast to Europe and Japan, the USA focuses on individual rights and
entitlements, with legislation to back this up. With respect to assistive technology,
this has meant that public programs serving people with disabilities are required to
address technology options. The impetus in assistive technology is towards
legislation and regulation in mainstream technology The USA can be seen at the
centre of globalisation but American society is more polarised; there is a much
greater gap between the „haves and have nots‟. It is unlikely that European citizens
will find the wholly American model acceptable. From a European perspective with
its legacy of state provision, American society lacks important elements that make
it a truly collective society. The next decade may see influences and cultural
attitudes from other cultures (e.g. Europe, Asia) being shared around the world,
particularly when it comes to the provision of services and assistive devices for
elderly and disabled people.
Technology transfer varies between the three economic regions. The technology
transfer mechanism in the USA is clearly presented and explained in commercial
terms. Research and development that is carried out in federal institutions is well
publicised and businesses are encouraged to exploit its results. Legislation has
resulted in federal laboratories having an incentive to transfer technology because
they receive financial reward for licensing arrangements. Product purchase
funding is also provided by the same government agency thereby providing a
ready market. Japan has followed the USA with similar legislation, but this is very
newly introduced and old hierarchical systems prevail. In Europe, there are
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several "showcase" style initiatives supported by the European Union but they are
not given incentives to take a proactive brokering role in the technology transfer
process. These initiatives provide publicity and dissemination but are not rewarded
for commercialisation.
The study surveyed current assistive technology and current developments, and
identified where there are bottlenecks in development (chapter 6). Some of these
bottlenecks could be a focus of attention in the next round of planning in the
European RTD programme.
The study surveyed the developments in mainstream technology and grouped the
developments into 11 important trends (chapter 7). These are: the Internet; mobile
communications; convergence of computer and mobile communications; virtual
reality; interfaces; miniaturisation; sensor technology; advanced materials;
robotics; energy and battery technology and transport. The scope of the
mainstream trends was limited to areas that were likely to have an impact on
assistive technology. Hence the study included robotics and computer technology,
but excluded medical research trends and genetic engineering. In transport, the
scope of the study is limited to personal mobility.
The study discusses the likely developments in the next decade in each of the 11
categories, and what this could mean for assistive technology. These ideas could
also be considered in the next round of planning in the European RTD programme.
This is the final report, which is a deliverable of the study. The final report was
reviewed by an external panel and discussed in a tele-workshop in September
2000, and many of the reviewers‟ comments were incorporated in the final report.
th
18 October 2000
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2 Recommendations
2.1 Technology Transfer
2.1.1 Stimulation of Market Pull
The European Commission framework programmes support a range of projects
operating in different parts of the technology transfer process. The majority are
targeted at technological R&D often with the participation of SMEs, and the
planned result should lead on to a tangible product or service, after the conclusion
of the project. These projects, in effect, "push" specific new technology into the
assistive technology market. A small proportion of projects aim to "pull" a broader
range of new technologies into the market by developing awareness and practical
opportunity for the take-up of assistive technology by demand-side professionals
(e.g. the ASTRID project, which produced a guide to assistive technology that
could be used for the care of people with dementia).
The study team recommends that the balance be changed to increase the
proportion of 'demand- pull' projects, so as to optimise the effect of funding.
This would increase the take-up of assistive technology by end-users and
stimulate the opportunities for SMEs by increasing market demand.
In the USA the same government agencies that are responsible for carrying out or
funding most of the AT research also fund most of the AT purchases. This has
the effect that AT development and manufacturing companies take note of what
the agencies say and the research they have carried out. The result is the
technology transfer from research establishment to manufacturer has been
relatively successful, and has helped to create a market pull for the products. In
Europe the procurement of AT tends to be through large purchasing or
commissioning organisations such as social service agencies or insurance
companies.
The study team recommends that a closer relationship be established
between large purchasing or commissioning organisations and developers
to stimulate immature AT markets.
2.1.2 Implementation of Brokering
The technology transfer mechanism in the USA is clearly presented and explained
in commercial terms. It is easily accessed on the Internet. The Federal
Laboratories have an incentive to transfer technology because they receive
financial reward for licensing arrangements. In Europe, there are several initiatives
supported by the European Union where project results are promoted in
“showcases”, either in brochures or websites. However there is no incentive for
these initiatives to take a proactive brokering role in the technology transfer
process. They focus on publicity.
The study team recommends that European Union initiatives include a
greater element of brokering in the technology transfer mechanism and that
brokers are rewarded by results.
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Due to the small size of the AT market there is often a need for an R&D institution
to connect with a niche commercial organisation that is probably in a different
European state.
The study team recommends that an EU brokering role should help make
these connections.
2.1.3 Support for Exploitation
European Union research and development funding is available to projects
undertaking any combination of the phases that make up the life-cycle of a
project. However, the majority of funded projects cover all the phases from user
needs to commercial exploitation. This might be because proposers perceive full
life-cycle proposals are more likely to be funded. The typical three-year project
duration regime does not suit every project and it is often the exploitation phase
that suffers.
Furthermore, one of the requirements of the RTD projects is an exploitation plan
(Technology Implementation Plan) whatever the phase of the project, a require-
ment which aims to improve the likelihood of the project resulting in a marketable
product or service. The effect is that each individual project has to conduct its
own technology transfer, with project partners having some idea of the exploitation
potential at the start of the project. In contrast in the USA a technology transfer
department deals with the exploitation of the results of all the research carried out
in that research organisation, and often links with other organisations. The
technology that has been developed is put on view, with clear invitations to
discuss its commercial exploitation. The onus is on the companies who can see
exploitation potential to come forward, rather than the research organisation, or
the development teams having to try and think of possible applications.
The study team recommends that exploitation requirements of proposed EU
projects should be relaxed and that specific arrangements be made for the
brokering of technology transfer on a pooled basis. Such arrangements
would allow the funding of technologically innovative projects without
requiring project consortia to include partners capable of exploiting the
results themselves. A proactive broker might be more successful at finding
viable exploitation opportunities than consortia that predict and set their
exploitation strategies at proposal stage.
The success of the uncoupling of the innovation and exploitation would rely
on sufficient feedback (or feed forward) from the transfer or brokerage
agency to the R&D teams. This could be carried out by a screening process,
which would be undertaken by the development team, with the guidance of
the broker, to take into account broad aspects of implementation or
dissemination before major investments in the technology were made,
leading to a go/no-go decision at an early stage. The methodology could be
part of the framework programme and be maintained under the supervision
of the brokering agent.
Research and development funding involves three players:
funding and strategy organisation
management and tactics organisation
research and development team
In the USA, funding and strategy is provided by central government. The
management and tactics are provided by federal laboratories and research and
development is typically undertaken by laboratory or university teams. The federal
laboratories are also responsible for the brokering of technology.
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In Europe the European Union takes responsibility for funding and strategy as well
as management and tactics. It commits the research and development teams to
include their own exploitation capability. The European Union delegates funding
decisions to independent committees of experts.
The study team believes that the intermediary role of the federal laboratories
in the USA model would be beneficial to EU projects with weak exploitation
plans.
The technology transfer mechanism in the USA is overtly led by government
organisations and these organisations are clearly business orientated. There is a
cultural difference between the two economic areas. In the USA doing business is
a way of life, and seen as a normal activity for government departments too. In
Europe, government departments have traditionally been responsible for the
administration of the state and providing information and have not typically made
business arrangements, although this is now beginning to change. The CORDIS
Innovation website provides a focal point for pan-European technology transfer
and is clearly branded as a European Union initiative. But other “showcase"
activities (where results of projects are presented) are typically led by independent
private organisations using European Union funding. These lack the credibility and
clarity of the US counterparts. There may be a general reluctance by SMEs to
pursue offers from such organisations when their pedigree and business terms are
not transparent.
The study team recommends the production of a guide to the European
Union “showcase" initiatives and the organisations that are carrying them
out. It might be preferable to disseminate guides via national government
organisations that already have business links with SMEs, and who may be
viewed by SMEs with less suspicion than little known private organisations.
The CORDIS Innovation website could be extended to a wider range of
European languages.
In some R&D projects the issue of ownership of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
amongst the partners acts to prevent the commercialisation of products.
The study team recommends that the IPR ownership clause in Research
and Technological Development contracts be reconsidered to allow the
developer-partners greater ownership of IPR that they develop.
2.2 Current Assistive Technology Bottlenecks
Five main areas of on-going development work are described in Chapter 6. The
benefits of applying resources to these should be judged together with the
potential opportunities afforded by “future technologies”.
2.3 Future Technologies
There is much going on in development of new technologies and developments
are moving fast. Many developments are enabled by technological advances in
other areas; these technologies need to be in place before development could take
place in the new area. For example, the explosive growth of the Internet has been
possible because of a well established telecommunications infrastructure and the
take-up of PCs. Miniaturisation will allow tiny sensors to be deployed in thousands
of applications.
Because of the inter-relationship between technological areas it would be
dangerous to try and rank the different mainstream developments in importance.
The 11 areas that the scope of the study covers are all worthy of attention
and represent useful input to the next EU R&D workplans.
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2.4 Observations from the tele-workshop
A team of invited experts took part in a tele-workshop and has made the following
observations and recommendations, based on the preliminary draft of this report:
Technology transfer in AT is successful in the USA where government
agencies are responsible for both funding development and purchasing
products.
The recommendation is that there should be a greater linkage in Europe
between purchasers of AT products and those responsible for funding
R&D in AT.
In the USA technology transfer of AT to large companies for inclusion in
mainstream technologies has only been successful through legislation.
The recommendation is that legislation should be used in Europe to
force the inclusion of AT in mainstream products.
Although there is emphasis on technology transfer, there should also be room
for fundamental research.
The recommendation is that there should be a balance between
fundamental research and product design.
Designers of mainstream products could better serve disabled groups, either
by choice or because of legislation, if they had better statistics about the
groups of people unable to use their products.
The recommendation is that the research effort be directed towards
providing statistical data about the types of disability and the number of
people affected.
Many designers of mainstream products are not aware of the needs of
disabled people or are not able to include solutions for them.
The recommendations are that: development tools be produced to help
designers cater for disabled users; open interface be incorporated to
allow the use of specialist software or hardware to cater for disabled
users.
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Some new ideas may come from the research field that do not fit the CEC‟s
R&D workplan.
The recommendation is that the funding application process should be
flexible enough to allow for ideas not covered in the workplan.
There is a problem in the time taken from the production of research results to
the deployment of new AT.
The recommendation is that the CEC should use more take-up actions to
shorten the deployment times and should better involve user
organisations and mainstream companies.
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3 Methodology
The study was split into 4 main tasks.
3.1 Task 1
First cut estimate and categorisation of technologies.
The study team identified their view of the AT market and the mainstream
technologies that are developing fast. Team members categorised the AT market
and mainstream developments and directed survey resources appropriately.
3.2 Task 2 – Survey, part 1 and part 2
Study team members carried out a survey of developments in mainstream
technologies, and existing AT technologies and produced a report for discussion
and confirmation of scope with European Commission staff.
A second phase of the survey was carried out to fill any gaps. The study team
also surveyed social trends in Europe, USA and Japan, to put the developments
into context, and the technology transfer processes in the three economic areas.
3.3 Task 3 – Analysis and Projections
The survey information was analysed and a report of the findings was written. The
study team members projected their ideas for innovation that would emerge from
the developments in mainstream technologies. Conclusions for each major part of
the study were drawn.
3.4 Task 4 – Recommendations and Review
The study team made recommendations for action that the European Commission
could consider to stimulate AT. The draft final report was circulated to 11 experts
who were asked to comment on its content, particularly the conclusions and
recommendations. The comments were used to draw up a list of discussion topics
for a tele-workshop which was held with four of the experts, the study team and
two Commission staff. Final editing of the report was then carried out.
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4 Social Trends
4.1 Europe
The European Union is a community undergoing a great change as it merges and
becomes more united. Many of the trends are detectable universally throughout
the countries of the EU, although the degree of influence can fluctuate. Moreover,
as eastern European countries start the process of joining the EU they bring with
them features and problems that differ from those of western countries.
1
European society has been termed a Mosaic Society , a way of describing the high
multiplicity, fragmentation and differentiation that is transforming the familiar
features of society – the way people work and live, use of time, the groups and
communities that are formed by members of society. In the past these had
remarkable stability for previous generations. The emerging mosaic society needs
to nurture individuals who can cope with an ever-advancing technological
community. Their values will change to become ones that emphasise
individualistic self-fulfilment and accomplishment, a diversity of choices in personal
life-styles and the mobility that a more open Europe creates. At the same time
these individuals must be aware of the risks presented to the security of their
welfare by this evolution.
1
The drivers of social change are :
economic – the globalisation of markets and business operations and rapid
technological change. These have an important impact on work – the type of
work that is required, the obsolescence of particular skills, increasing job
flexibility and precariousness, and the knock-on effects that these have on
lifestyles and social conditions
demographic changes – the ageing of the population, the mobility of people
within the EU, and the migration and intermixing of peoples of different
backgrounds
value changes – such as the importance of marriage, changing patterns of
beliefs and religious practises, increased leisure time and leisure pursuits, and
personal aspirations and expectations.
4.1.1 Economy
In 1995 the GDP of the EU15 was 6 500 billion euro, 20% more than that of the
US, and 70% more than that of Japan. The four largest member states generate
almost three-quarters of the European GDP, almost 30% being accounted for by
Germany.
However, the per-capita national income was lower than that of the USA by more
2
than a quarter and lower than that of Japan by almost one sixth .
In Europe, the substantial increase in public spending over the last two decades
has led to a combination of high taxation and high deficits. In 1995, after several
decades of constantly heavier tax burdens, the share of the European economy
taken by the state is 50% higher than in the USA and Japan. This has led to higher
costs for enterprises and lower investment through the reduced availability of
2
savings .
4.1.2 Work and Employment
The change in the economy towards one that is based on information and care
services, the tertiary sector rather than manufacturing, will alter the nature of the
workforce as well as placing demands on the education and welfare system.
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There is already a trend of unemployment amongst older men with traditional
manufacturing skills. Life-long full time jobs are losing their importance as
1
intellectual capital rather than machine or fixed capital becomes the driving force .
The increasing globalisation of national economies has its effects on the EU.
National enterprises will eventually become obsolete if they do not restructure and
merge with other companies to create a more global network. As national barriers
become easier to penetrate, companies will set up in low cost locations and
operate from there. In recent years, as these national barriers have broken down,
competition has become far more intense.
As the borders disintegrate and people from different cultures mix, there is a
danger of cultural particularities disappearing, and with the dominance of the US,
being substituted for US culture. Although there will still be some differences in
consumption that will have to be tailored to a regional level, the trend is moving
towards “McDonaldisation”, the preference for mass produced consumer goods.
Traditional marketing categories based on socio-economic status will no longer be
relevant because of changes in the nature of households and the diversities in
personal and social relationships. New consumer priorities include services rather
than goods but these will have to be relevant for diverse lifestyles.
Percentage of working population employed within each sector of the economy in
1
1975 and 1996 .
EU15 1975 1996
Industry 39.5% 29.8%
Agriculture 11.1% 5.1%
Services 49.4% 65.1%
The number of people employed in the service sector is expected to double again
in the next ten years, if investment is intensified in this sector.
Short fixed-term contracts will be the norm, having already increased from 9% of
1
all contracts in 1985 to 12% in 1995 . Part-time employment and multiple
employment will increase as people become more diverse in the ways they choose
and are able to spend their time. “Portfolio careers” will be more popular for
employees who will need to be more flexible in turning their hand to a variety of
tasks. People must become more psychologically flexible and geographically
mobile. This will be managed by a change in education structures and will have an
impact on personal relationships.
Despite globalisation there is a growing emergence of small businesses and self-
employment. Both high levels of unemployment and lower barriers to starting up
business offered by an information and service based economy help generate this.
In this context working from home will increase, not least due to the advances in
technology that enable such teleworking. Access to employment is altered and
people with obligations that restrict their ability to work away from home or within
normal office hours will be able to be accommodated. Furthermore, there may be
greater employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Traditional day and
night patterns will become blurred as people adjust to the globalised market
moving away from the traditional “nine-five” day. In future there will be an
emergence of a transnational labour market with innovation clusters attracting
people to an area however fast transport systems are. Nevertheless, information-
based organisations will be able to go where there are people and the “electronic
1
cottage” will be a familiar feature of society .
As education and leisure time increase in importance the number of years and
time people spend working will decrease. Not only will young people be entering
the labour market at a later age, older individuals will be leaving it earlier, too, to
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pursue their desires that go beyond those of job satisfaction. The labour market
age (as the age where at least 50% of the generation is in the labour market) rose
1
from 18 in 1987 to 20 in 1995 . People retiring may soon be in their fifties rather
than their sixties. The number of hours worked in one week is already decreasing,
for example in Germany and France the “35 hour” week is considered full-time
employment. Again, one must not forget that this is not the case for those
individuals in low paid jobs.
This polarisation is an important factor. It is evident in the unemployment rate
1
which rose from 3.7% in 1974 to 10.9% in 1996 . Despite the social
developments, the unemployment rate has dropped in all member states to an
overall percentage of 8.8% since 1996 (as of January 2000), the highest rates of
unemployment being in Spain (15%), the lowest in the Netherlands and
Luxembourg (2.7%, 2.6%). In the Netherlands, there are reported shortages of
workers in IT industries, and interestingly, in the caring industry, resulting in a
growing interest in the use of technology to help support people at home, and to
support care workers so that they can concentrate on the tasks that really do need
3
to be carried out by human carers. The Safe 21 project created tremendous
interest in The Netherlands during trials of telematics products which supported
and monitored vulnerable people at home. The trials stimulated two national TV
programmes. One of the outcomes is a national congress, for politicians, care
assessment organisations (Rios), care providers and insurance companies (which
generally pay for the care that is required) entitled “Technology in Home Care” to
be held on 12th October 2000.
The trend of reducing unemployment is expected to continue across Europe as the
4
labour force shrinks due to the ageing of the population . Nevertheless, those that
do not have access to the educational facilities that allow them to adapt to changes
will lose their jobs or continue to work in low skilled, low paid jobs, unable to afford
early retirement or much recreational time. Migrant workers from eastern
European countries and from outside Europe are likely to be attracted to areas of
full employment. Lack of qualifications or skills is likely to be acute in this group of
workers.
Attitudes towards employment are important. In general only one third of the
inhabitants of the EU who work feel that their job has a high intrinsic quality and
many find they are pressured into having to work long hours and do overtime. One
third would be willing to reduce working hours with some financial loss. In addition,
there are very low levels of commitment to employers. On unemployment, there is
no evidence that a generous welfare system reduces work motivation and 65% of
the unemployed questioned would rather work, even if there was no financial
compensation involved, although over time they suffer reductions in their self
1
esteem .
For those with jobs, the earnings spread, which is the ratio between the top 10%
5
and the bottom 10%, varies from 2.1 in Sweden to 3.7 in Austria . Low paid
6
workers make up an increasing proportion of people and households in poverty ,
although the impact of unemployment varies significantly, classed in four types of
country:
low unemployment – low poverty, e.g. Scandinavia
low unemployment – high poverty, e.g. USA
high unemployment – average to low poverty, e.g. continental Europe
high unemployment – high poverty, e.g. Ireland
There is a significant number of jobs with poor conditions as well as a high number
of employees reporting health problems; nearly 40% are in high strain jobs linked
1
to ill health and early mortality and around 18% are self employed .
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4.1.2.1 Women in the Workforce
There are wide variations across the EU in the participation of mothers with
dependent children in the workforce. The participation of married or cohabiting
mothers in full-time or part-time employment is 32% in Ireland, whereas it is 80%
in Sweden. The participation of lone mothers in employment varies from 23% in
1
Ireland to 70% in Sweden . Having children does not inhibit mothers‟ activity in
Scandinavia, and has little impact in countries such as France and Italy. However
in Germany and the UK most mothers are only able to work part-time, and in
Ireland and the Netherlands, women hardly work at all after the birth of their first
1
child .
Women are still more likely to be in low paid caring or clerical jobs, than men.
Moreover, the „glass ceiling‟ which prevents women being appointed to senior
managerial positions is still very much in place, despite national and EU legislation
on equal opportunity. On the other hand, the average age of women having their
first child is increasing, particularly amongst women who have received high
education. Women are delaying the start of family in order to compete with their
male counterparts.
The provision of further child care and the expansion of distance learning in
combination with the encouragement of part-time and out-of-hours employment
will lead to further participation of women in the labour market and other facets of
society outside the domestic household situation.
In ageing statistics it is seen that women live longer than men. Although this might
change, the phenomenon has its effects on the population of older women. With
older couples it is often the case that the male partner gets health problems earlier
and the female partner gives care and support. But after the death of the male
partner, the woman has to cope alone in society.
4.1.3 Population and Demographics
4.1.3.1 Population Changes
Demographic effects point out a shrinking economically active population for EU15
by the year 2009, the result of both the ageing of the population and a diminishing
birth rate. Current demographic projections show that the EU might reach a
stationary level of population in the next half century. However, the acceptance of
Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Slovenia and Cyprus will increase the
EU population by one-sixth, and immigration along recent trends will postpone
7
global demographic decline by two or more generations. Also, young people are
now entering the labour market at a later age, spending more time in education.
There is a definite link between birth rate and the Gross Domestic Product of a
country, the lower the GDP, the greater the birth rate is likely to be and vice versa;
the birth rate is a clear indicator of the economic situation of a country.
8
Mean number of children born alive to a woman in Europe during her lifetime
Year 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
No. of children 2.45 1.96 1.80 1.59 1.57 1.43
Internal migration is now more apparent in the EU as legislation of the various
countries is harmonised to allow an easier flow of people across the borders.
External immigration, ie immigration from countries outside the EU (mainly from
Mediterranean countries) has changed the face of European culture. These
developments will lead to more fragmented national cultures as different cultures
mix. Some are worried about a possible loss of national identity in this process.
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The average age of the working population that has been stable at 40 for the past
1
20 years will have increased 2.5 years by 2015 . From 2010 on, older workers
(55-64) will account for a greater share of the working-age population than younger
1
workers (20-29) . This is a universal phenomenon for all EU member states,
including those in central and Eastern Europe entering the EU in the future. The
dependency ratio is the number of dependants per working member of the
population.
1
Dependency ratios for 1960-2030
1960 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
Austria .519 .479 .460 .455 .490 .620
Belgium .550 .497 .510 .495 .568 .680
Denmark .558 .484 .500 .5250 .573 .650
Finland .603 .486 .491 .501 .628 .699
France .613 .521 .529 .505 .590 .675
Germany .488 .450 .454 .473 .498 .621
Greece .532 .491 .495 .524 .560 .627
Ireland .732 .631 .482 .475 .555 .568
Italy. .517 .453 .468 .497 .544 .669
Luxembourg .474 .449 .478 .493 .550 .643
Netherlands .639 .451 .466 .458 .541 .685
Portugal .591 .506 .481 .493 .521 .588
Spain .554 .495 .462 .469 .500 .602
Sweden .514 .556 .556 .550 .633 .690
UK .537 .535 .529 .511 .575 .661
Czech Rep. .533 .514 .433 .410 .486 .509
Hungary .524 .505 .460 .442 .499 .513
Poland .646 .543 .463 .428 .511 .545
The dependency ration declined in Europe in the past 30 years because of entry to
the workforce of the „baby-boomers‟ and falling fertility rates; but it is set to
increase again.
Current welfare systems in European countries will face increasing pressure as the
number of elderly people (aged 65 and over) increases from 57 million in 1995 to
9
81 million by 2025, a 41% increase. The proportion of people in society who are
65 years or more will increase from 15% in 1995 to 22% in 2025. Pension, health
and welfare costs for elderly people are generally higher than those of young
people. Consequently, the economy must increase its overall output in order to
maintain the well being and standard of living of EU inhabitants.
A mutual responsibility between individual and state is likely to evolve in an attempt
to resolve the problem. Employers may offer better welfare packages such as
pension and private health care to attract good staff. On the other hand, an
increase in temporary contracts and self-employment will mean that more people
will have to make personal arrangements and provision or look to the state to
support them when they need it.
4.1.3.2 Families and Households
The modern family has decreased in size as the birth rate declines. On average
the countries of the EU12 have 2.5 persons per household. The two-generation
family has been a feature of European culture for a significant time, meaning that it
is not a deciding factor in present changes, unlike in Japan. What is more, the
number of childless families is increasing, as people become more work and
leisure orientated. Most significantly this has happened in Denmark where in 1994
only 43.6% of married couples had children. Single parent families continue to
1
increase, the highest number being Ireland with 15% .
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Marriage rates are declining as co-habitation rises in acceptance. In 1974 the
marriage rate lay at 7.6 per 1000 inhabitants per year but sank to 5.1 per 1000
1
inhabitants in 1994 . Co-habitational ties are usually less permanent and result in
people having a number of “serial personal relationships” during their lives. Also,
the mean duration of marriage at divorce sank from 13.8 years in 1970 to 12.3
1
years in 1980 .
Household patterns that differ from traditional ones will be a feature of tomorrow‟s
Europe. Both single-person households (26% across the EU in 1990 as opposed
to 22% in 1980) and multi-person households are becoming ever more popular.
Such multi-person households consist of either young professionals or students
sharing accommodation or elderly people grouped together for company and
1
security . This produces a variety of lifestyles and personal relationships that are
less permanent and more diverse than before. As the traditional family unit loses
its value, new forms of collective support will emerge to compensate for it. This
process is supported by a greater mobility of the individual within Europe. It also
has implications for the housing market that will have to create housing that is
orientated towards these demands.
Relative poverty is still a significant feature in the EU, varying from 6% - 25% of the
population, the average across the EU being 18%. Relative poverty is any one with
10
a “net income below 60% of the median equivalised total income” . Nevertheless,
absolute poverty has declined and the overall levels of relative poverty have been
fairly stable. The risk of poverty is shifting from the elderly to families with young
children, single person households, lone parents and to a certain extent, single-
earner households. Even so, older persons are still at a high risk in some
countries. Income inequality has declined in some countries and increased in
others.
A recent Lifestyle Survey carried out by the European Statistical Office of the
European Communities in Luxembourg found that, across the EU, 31% of the
households said they were able to make ends meet “fairly easily”, 17% “easily”,
and 6% “very easily”. On the other hand, 28% admitted they managed “with some
difficulty”, 11% “with difficulty”, and 7% “ with great difficulty”. Those with the most
problems in making ends meet are to be found in Greece (21%), Portugal (16%)
and Spain (15%). Those who enjoy a high standard of living reside predominantly
10
in Germany (15%) and Denmark (14%) .
Social exclusion remains a problem throughout Europe, and may even increase
due to persistent unemployment. Those groups likely to suffer from exclusion are
marginalised youths, those with drug abuse problems and external immigrants,
who, even if they are employed remain in low paid unskilled jobs. Europe will
1
continue to experience problems with heroin addiction, AIDS and hepatitis .
4.1.4 Education
It is predicted that education is to become the largest industry in developed
11
countries. Current inadequacies are highlighted in a recent OECD survey .
Between one third to a half of 25-64 year olds throughout the OECD area have
less than adequate literacy levels for meeting present-day living and working
requirements. As the individual experiences more and more freedom, the
education system must change to move away from specific skills-orientated
training to creating individuals who are inquisitive, analytical and know where and
how to obtain any information or skills they require. Children need to be taught
how to function in a society that is in a constant process of change, especially
regarding the new forms of employment.
There is a trend to higher educational standards. The number of young people
going into higher education has increased and this is expected to continue. In
France 33% of all school-leavers now participate in higher education at the
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undergraduate level, and 24% in the UK, and both of these are large rises on a
decade ago. In Sweden, the number of qualified school-leavers has increased by
50%, although the percentage of the population acquiring a degree is still the
same. The implication of this is that there is a rise in the standard of those in
higher education, as there is a greater selection process, there being more
12
qualified school-leavers to choose from . In the future it could mean that a larger
number of students must be accommodated in higher education.
It is interesting that there is a rise in the number of people returning to higher
education. This shows how the economy is moving away from being simply
manufacturing-orientated to focussing more on know-how and information-based
13
productivity.
14
Percentage of new entrants to higher education aged 25 and over 1991-1995
Denmark Germany Sweden Netherlands UK
1991 30% 19% 28% 14% 32%
1995 38% 20% 32% 14% 36%
Distance learning is an innovation that has changed the face of education. Not
only can people be taught from home via the Internet or other distance learning
packages, at their convenience, but also if they have disabilities or other
commitments that prevent them from being able to participate in a traditional
course. In a UK Open University survey, 80% of the respondents expected to be
taught at home by computer by 2020, and by 2025 two thirds of the respondents
1
agreed that there would be a demise of the traditional school .
1
Life Long Learning (LLL) is an important feature of future developments in
education. As the demands of the labour market progress rapidly, employees will
be forced to continuously better their skills in order to remain employable.
Institutions and programmes must be created and made accessible in order for
this to be possible. It is also important to re-educate and re-skill older employees
in light of technological advances. This will in turn improve the productivity of
individual workers to help compensate for the increasing dependency ratio of non-
workers and the labour force.
These changes in education are important drivers for social and economic change.
Like in the USA, the proportion of people who have undertaken some post-school
education is rising. The type of study that is undertaken at this level includes more
information searching and analytical work, developing these skills in the students.
These are the skills that are needed in the expanding knowledge-based work of
the future.
4.1.5 Religion
Among the EU 15, Christianity has historically been the main religion, both
Catholicism and Protestantism. But there are other important religions for sectors
of the EU population, eg Judaism among the Jewish community. The influence of
the Christian religion has diminished and fewer people regularly worship in a
formal way at church. The principle of freedom of religious practice is common
throughout western European countries, and most national education curricula
encourage the examination of all the major world religions rather than the
indoctrination of one religion.
4.1.6 Leisure and Lifestyle
As a result of the changes in society discussed so far, people‟s ideas on how to
spend their time and money will change. The mobile phone adds to the portrait of
the mobile individual, free of any geographical constraints but rather constrained
by his virtual presence, which is far harder to get away from. Politics and religion
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might influence lifestyles more than the average citizen believes will happen.
Migration from the East and Africa will change the scene in the EU: a pluriformity
will grow but also an extremism on religious and non-religious grounds.
1
Changes in patterns of final consumption
Proportion of household income spent
EU12 1970 1980 1993
Food 29.8% 21.3% 19.1%
Clothing 9.2% 7.8% 7.4%
Housing/fuel 15.0% 16.8% 18.2%
Furnishings 8.8% 8.1% 7.9%
Medical Care 5.1% 7.4% 8.4%
Transport 11.9% 14.9% 15.3%
Recreation 7.7% 8.2% 8.6%
Other 12.4% 15.7% 15.1%
15
PC ownership is expected to grow to exceed that of the US by 2003. This growth
is a result of the increasing desire to participate in Internet activities. By 2003,
46% of the EU population will own a PC, as opposed to 36% in 1999. In countries
such as Sweden, the percentage will be as high as 72%.
4.1.7 Citizens with Disabilities and Universal Access
Most of the northern European countries and some southern European countries
have an element of a welfare state or social security in which the needs of disabled
people are addressed, and support is provided. Some EU countries have their
own „disability act‟ in which the rights of people with disability to take part in, and
have access to, mainstream life is spelt out, with employers and local
municipalities responsible for providing facilities that enable access.
The concept of universal access for all is well accepted in European governance
although practice lags behind intent. The EU 15 is keen to avoid the creation of an
underclass that is excluded from technological advances due to poverty or
disability. This can be achieved in two ways. One is that the government directly
ensures that everyone has access to the technological appliances needed to
participate in the modern society. Terminals and access points are set up and
funded by the government in public places such as libraries, hospitals, community
centres and schools. Orientation and support schemes must also be a part of
such programmes. Furthermore, governments need to support the fostering of
new behaviour on the individual level.
Care for the disabled or elderly varies across Europe, with implications for the
labour market. It is legally binding for kin members in countries such as Italy,
Portugal and Spain. In Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece and
Luxembourg, there are legal obligations on the next of kin. There are no legal
obligations in the UK or Ireland and in Scandinavia and the Netherlands there are
explicit public obligations whereby the support is directed at the individual rather
than the family. Otherwise all countries have some form of institutionalised care
16
albeit to varying degrees. For countries where a high proportion of women work
outside the home (eg 80% in Sweden) the need for and expectation of paid
services for the care of elderly and disabled family members is higher.
EU legislation on universal access for citizens with disabilities states that negative
discrimination must be eliminated and that people with disabilities, based upon the
content of human rights legislation, must be granted extra help in improving their
quality of life. Appropriate forms of preventive and active policies to promote their
integration include those that further their access to adequate vocational training,
ergonomics, accessibility, mobility, means of transport and housing. The
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European Council decided upon the final draft of this in December 1986. In May
1990 separate legislation came into force giving equal access to education for
disabled children, with specific emphasis on their integration into the ordinary,
existing systems of education. In June 1999 the Council reminded members that
this legislation must be reinforced and taken up in the legislation of the various
17
member states.
4.1.8 The Use of Assistive Technology
In general terms, because support for disabled people is provided by a social
security system or state-endorsed insurance schemes, the selection and purchase
of assistive technology has tended to be the province of state departments and
municipalities or insurance companies. The general philosophy has been that if a
disabled person needs an aid to combat the effect of his or her disability, then the
welfare system should provide. This expectation has been reinforced by the fact
that often people with disabilities have low income (ie are more likely to be
unemployed or in low paid work). The result is that manufacturers of assistive
technology tend to sell to organisations rather than individuals. These
organisations will often make an assessment of a piece of assistive technology to
decide if it will go on an approved list.
The private purchase of assistive technology is under-developed, although this is
beginning to change. The change is being driven firstly, by changes in the way
that welfare support is provided and organised, with more use of private
organisations and private funding schemes; and secondly by a changing attitude
towards people with disabilities, that they should not simply be cosseted, but
enabled to work and maintain their own independence. Legislation and policies
that encourage and enable disabled people to work, and disabled young people to
be educated in mainstream schools, will gradually help to change the way disabled
people are viewed. It will also change disabled people‟s own attitudes. They will
expect to be independent and to make their own decisions about the assistive
technology that they want to use and purchase for themselves.
Furthermore, as disability becomes more „mainstreamed‟, manufacturers of
mainstream technology are more likely to include, as far as possible, features
which make technological devices usable and relevant to some people with
disabilities. Overall, it is anticipated that the use of advanced assistive technology
in Europe will increase, as more technology is adopted in all spheres of life, and
that more assistive technology will be purchased on an individual or private basis.
Already mentioned earlier is the issue of acceptance of the technical aids and
systems. The first step is the acceptance of the illness, age, or disability itself.
Informative programmes on TV can have a positive effect on this. The remaining
barriers depend mainly on the assistive technology products themselves. The
design of a wheelchair in a modern fashionable way, pleasant to look at, a
professional and quality appearance, attracts positive attention. Even leg
prostheses can be designed in that way: high technological and functional
appealing looks, even decorations on the fittings, are attracting positive attention
(and hopefully better acceptance).
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4.2 Japan
In sharp contrast to the USA, Japan has been a society with heavy state or
corporate control over its citizens and a philosophy that the collective society is
more important than the individual. But this is now changing. One of the effects of
globalisation has been the influence of Western ideas and values, which were
initially rejected and fought off, but are now gaining acceptance. Japan is a key
industrial nation whose world influence was likely to decline under the inflexibility of
a heavy bureaucratic system. Japanese government has recognised this problem
and is now promoting change and encouraging more individualism amongst its
citizens.
4.2.1 Economy
Japan is the world‟s second largest economy, constituting 60-70% of the Asian
18
economy . Its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 24 100 euro in
1998. It suffered a recession between 1996 and 1998 but in 1999 a recovery
19
began with a 1.9% increase in GDP and predictions for future rises .
Japan is a changing market with a growing interest in foreign goods and travel
abroad, and although the market is complex, it is open. Foreign direct investment
20
more than doubled in value in 1996 to reach 7.7 billion euro . Political
adaptations such as deregulation, decentralisation and a restructuring of the
20
economy mean that new areas in Japan are far more accessible . As industrial
output increases due to an increase in US and Asian demand, 2000 is expected to
21
be a year of “modest economic recovery” . Investment has stabilised but has not
yet begun to increase. Private investment is seen to be a key component in
22
growth this year as many firms undergo restructuring that limits their capacity .
Consumer confidence has yet to recover, although the labour market is stabilising.
Sluggish household spending shows that there are still concerns over employment
and income prospects. The main employer federation, Nikkeiren, wishes to
22
impose a wage cut in order to secure its jobs this fiscal year . Finally, consumers
expect a rise in the tax burden as soon as the economy recovers, an inevitable
22
result of the government‟s deteriorating fiscal position , even after attempts in
1997 to rejuvenate the economy by implementing tax cuts of 20 billion euro and
23
offering 300 billion euro aid to the financial sector.
The 126 million inhabitants in Japan control 22% of the world‟s savings after the
immense growth in the early 1990‟s that led to a bursting of the “bubble economy”.
This had the effect that the value of the yen weakened, the cost of property was
reduced, there was an increase in labour flexibility and the Japanese economy was
24
encouraged to participate in the globalisation process. Further economic
restructuring is taking place to develop an environment favourable towards new
business activities as well as to create a business environment attractive to both
25
Japanese and foreign companies. Foreign investment is now welcomed in
Japan. Deregulation and the development of key technologies as well as better
human resources play an important role in this context. Deregulation means that
free competition and market forces are allowed to influence the Japanese
economy rather than a tight system of government control. A reform of
standardised systems and corporate structures was intended to enable this, as
Japan used to be a country in which the government decided on investment in a
26
market that was not consumer-orientated and neglected small businesses .
Business attitudes are changing. Previously Japan was not only closed to foreign
investment and regulated by the state, but the attitudes of those that managed the
businesses inhibited progress. Large corporations are headed by an elderly male
elite who reinforce their own power through the existing hierarchy. Decision
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makers in businesses are often people who do not understand the technical
issues. A social vicious circle exists in which older managers who had to fight hard
27
and wait years for recognition treat younger staff in the same way. Furthermore,
the governmental structure was such that officials who were making decisions
were rotated too quickly, creating confusion and counteracting any educated
judgement these officials could make. Now some of these antiquated structures
are being dismantled.
Disposable income doubled between 1984 and 1998 with 29.5 % of the population
now owning personal computers as opposed to 11.7% in 1987. In 1987 70.4% of
28
Japanese households owned their own car, which rose to 82.5% in 1999.
4.2.2 Work and Employment
A move towards the tertiary sector is evident, as the service industry with personal
29
and business services becomes more important. Japan‟s rate of overseas
production is lower than the USA and Germany. The unemployment rate in Japan
is relatively low. It is currently at 4.6%, which signifies a recent decline in
unemployment. However, this low unemployment figure may be influenced by a
number of factors. One is the definition of unemployment. The unemployed are
defined as those who have looked for a job within a week prior to the survey (as
opposed to four weeks in the US) or are waiting to hear from prospective
30
employers concerning their jobs . This results in a great a number of people who
are looking for jobs being filtered out of the statistics. Further factors are that there
are 8.3% family workers in Japan and 14% of the working population is self-
31
employed . These figures are higher than in other industrialised countries.
Japanese employees working for corporations work on the basis of a lifetime
contract and the mechanism of “Shukko”, hoarding of potential redundant workers
with benefits and subsidiaries, means that such individuals are not part of the
31
survey . In addition, the government has taken measures to provide incentives
for companies that employ the not-so-easily-employable since the 1970‟s. Help in
job training and job seeking is provided by governmental institutions and the idea
31
that unemployment allowance is strictly temporary is reinforced .
Obtaining information about poverty in Japan is difficult. In general statistics, no
information is given about the poverty of inhabitants, as it is regarded “not
applicable” although it is implied in many articles that poverty exists but remains
obscure. Reports of visitors to Japan confirm that poverty is seldom seen in
Japan, nevertheless in recent years there has been an emergence of
homelessness, to be detected in towns where there are people living under
bridges and in parks. This is a result of the changes in the structure of society,
there are more unemployed as employment becomes less permanent.
Furthermore, the unemployed are no longer hidden away within the structure of the
32
traditional Japanese family.
4.2.2.1 Women in the Workforce
Women‟s role in Japanese society has altered to one where they are now in a
position to make decisions for themselves, and to seek education and
employment. Equal opportunity legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of
33
race, creed, sex, social status, economic position, or family background.
However, Japanese women still feel disadvantaged, as a poll conducted by the
Minister‟s Office in 1995 showed, whereby “more than half of the respondents felt
that women had not yet achieved equality in the work place or in the realm of
31
social attitudes” . The behaviour of women in employment is demonstrated in a
graph that shows an “M-curve”. Women are employed after graduation from
school or college, take time off to create a family and re-enter the job market at a
later age. This also means that on re-entering the market a woman‟s chances of
equal employment are limited as well as at the outset. It is important to note that
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men still occupy senior positions and women are often confined to the service
31
sector or clerical work .
Much employment in Japan is based upon lifetime contracts which penalise
women who take time off to have children. Moreover, the Japanese government
has yet to institutionalise child care leave and other concessions to alleviate this
problem. Furthermore, in a society where a woman is expected to work in addition
to her household responsibilities, full-time work, not to mention the expected over-
time, remains impossible for the majority of women. There is evidence that
Japanese companies apply varying hiring policies for men and women, with
31
different promotion and salary increases .
4.2.3 Population and Demographics
4.2.3.1 Population Changes
In geographic size, Japan is slightly smaller than the state of California, but with a
total population of 127.2 million in 1999, which is about half of that of the entire
United States. This results in a population density of more than 2240 people per
34
square km, more than 11 times the population density of the United States .
At the same time 75% of the land is too mountainous to cultivate, which means the
actual population density is approximately 14 800 people per square km.
Furthermore, 65% of its area is covered in forest, so that the Japanese population
34
occupy even less of the country . 49 % of the population are crowded into the
three big metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and their surrounding
35
cities . Japan suffers from the effects of this urbanisation. Rural areas are
becoming less and less attractive as the desire for a better standard of living
increases. Inflation of land prices and the great appreciation of land value in the
city‟s central commercial district began in 1983. It later spread to other
metropolitan areas and to smaller cities and towns. Those who expected to gain
by reselling the properties invested a lot in speculation. Others who were afraid
the inflation would accelerate rushed to purchase a place to live. All seemed well
until the “bubble burst” in 1991, the land prices began to fall and have continued to
36
do so since. A further problem is that much of the accommodation in the cities is
in need of renovation or even total rebuilding. Those that bought property in the
1960‟s and 1970‟s are now retired and in their 70‟s, often living alone after their
31
spouses have passed away .
The growth of the Japanese population is slowing down, following a similar trend in
most industrialised countries. It now lies at 0.20% in 1995 as opposed to 1.27% in
1974, which is the result of the declining birth rate, from 18.6 per 1,000 in 1974 to
10.0 per 1,000 in 1994. It is expected that Japan‟s population will reach a peak of
31
130.4 million in 2010, after which it will gradually decrease .
The age distribution of the Japanese population is undergoing a gradual change as
the birth rate declines. The pre-war structure, with a large population of children
aged under 14 years and has given way to an ageing population. In 1995 14.4% of
Japan‟s total population was 65 years of age or older. This figure is low in
comparison with some European countries such as Sweden, where the ratio is
nearly 18%, and the United Kingdom, where the ratio is over 15%. However, the
average life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world at 83.0 years for
women and 76.6 years for men, which means that the ratio of senior citizens is
31
increasing sharply and is expected to reach 25.5% by 2020 .
4.2.3.2 Families and Households
The family has always played an important role in Japan, with strong familial ties
being the focus of public and private life. Traditionally, parental authority and a rigid
hierarchical system in which women were subordinate to their husbands and in-law
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family were the norm, and large families lived together under the dominance of
their elders. This is now changing as Western influences create a different model
of society.
There are factors that have brought about a change in the structure of society in
31
which the small, two-generation “nuclearised” family exists, as well as attitudes to
the position of women, the elderly, marriage and divorce becoming far less rigid.
This change, initiated in the 1970‟s, is a result of globalisation in which all countries
not only have closer ties in trade and foreign investment, but they also inevitably
influence each other culturally, politically and in terms of accepted values. Japan
benefits from its Westernisation in terms of the standard of living but must also
31
forfeit a great deal of its inherent culture in order to adapt .
Individual choices rather than the traditional family orientated ones are now central
to Japanese existence. The following stereotypes help to paint a picture of the
modern Japanese society. The typical “salariiman” does not actually fit the picture
of the Japanese workaholic but is more rather interested in working hard to get the
job done and having a private life outside the corporate existence in order to
pursue personal happiness. The orientation of the young adult is the enjoyment of
life and the importance of secular values such as friends and material wealth. The
focus on obligations to an existing or future family has been obliterated.
Excitement is central. The middle aged are middle class. This is reflected in a
study in which 80% of the respondents considered themselves to be so, promoting
values that revolve around “social well-being”, the avoidance of “unpleasant
situations” and the company of friends. The “Urban seniors” are the ones Japan
owes its post war prosperity to. They are influenced by the West and therefore
have equally substituted Japanese values for their own. They are still very much
37
interested in achievement in the “time they have left”.
The average size of a Japanese household has dropped to less than 3 in half the
31
time it took the USA to make such a change . This not only shows that the family
structure has changed, it also reflects the decline of the fertility rate, as couples
have fewer children.
Arranged marriages continue to decrease and divorce is more of an option for both
men and women. This also reflects how families are becoming far more
democratic as women begin to assert themselves and the importance of the senior
members decreases.
The desire for smaller families or even single households means that a new
approach to caring for the elderly must be found. This has additional importance
as the number of elderly people increases in relation to the upcoming younger
generation. There are not enough children to go around providing care as work
commitments become more important for women and the traditional role of the
woman changes. An opinion poll shows how little Japanese life revolves around
personal family ties today. In 1987 31.7% of the population believed society and
the nation were important whereas in 1998 48.3% of the population think this way.
The importance of a fulfilled personal life has dropped from 37.0% in 1987 to
31
32.7% in 1998 . This trend appears to be contradictory at first, as one would
argue that the reason why especially women are adamant about attaining
education and employment is because they desire a more fulfilled personal life.
However, this poll is not contradictory as it shows how much more aware people
are of their surroundings beyond the family as they begin to break away from such
structures.
Since the late 1960s the emphasis in Japan‟s housing sector has shifted from the
need to eliminate quantitative shortages to the need for qualitative improvements.
Japan‟s home ownership ratio (59.8% in 1991) is lower than that of the UK (67.6%
in 1991) and US ratio (64.2% in 1991). Nevertheless, according to the
Construction Ministry, Japan is ahead of France (53.8% in 1993) and Germany
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38
(39.3% in 1987) . The house size varies from rural to urban area, due to the
38
difference in the concentration of inhabitants, reflected in land prices .
The infrastructure as a foundation for industrial activities such as transport and
communication is well established in Japan. At the same time the infrastructure as
the foundation for living standards is poor compared to the USA or Europe. For
example in 1993 only 47% of the population had access to sewage facilities in
Japan, whereas in the UK the percentage of the population was 96% and in the
38
USA it was 73% .
4.2.4 Education
A central goal of the educational system is to produce self-reliant citizens of a
peaceful and democratic nation who respect human rights and love truth and
31
peace . The law specifically prohibits any link between political parties or religion
31
and education . Education is free and compulsory for all children between the age
of six and fifteen, but most students continue beyond this age. In 1995, 97% of all
students entered upper secondary school, a ratio similar to that of the United
States, and 45% of all upper secondary school students continued on to university.
This is smaller than that of the United States, but larger than that of western
31
European countries .
In addition to junior colleges and universities, a number of students enter
vocational schools. Moreover, the University of the Air opened in 1985 to provide
access for adults wishing to re-enter education, by broadcasting lectures via radio
39
and television .
Private schools exist at all stages of education; they play an important role in pre-
school and university education, both of which are beyond the scope of the
compulsory system. As many as 80% of children in kindergartens and 73% of
students in universities are enrolled in private institutions, and 30% of all upper
39
secondary students attend private schools .
The number of Japanese students studying abroad has increased. In 1994
39
151,000 students were studying in a foreign country .
The administration of Japanese education follows the trend of decentralisation to
make way for more local autonomy on all kinds of administrative levels, not just in
education. Local authorities have a lot of say, whereas the Ministry of Education
plays more of a co-ordinating role. Each school organises its own curricula in
accordance with the Course of Study, prepared and published by the Ministry of
39
Education .
Educational background is a decisive factor in Japan's employment system. In
order to acquire a position in a top ranking company, it is important to have
graduated from a leading university. There is fierce competition in the entrance
exams, and “cramming schools” to heighten the chances of success. However,
awareness of the problem may eventually bring reform. Japanese parents believe
there should be less emphasis on entrance exams and more preparation for a
stress-free life, nevertheless geared towards the challenges of a highly
technologically advanced society in which individuals must become more informed,
40
more resourceful and more creative.
4.2.5 Religion
Religion and religious customs play a part in Japanese life, although not a decisive
one as secular values become increasingly important. The freedom of religion is
protected under Japanese law, whereby the state itself is under the obligation to
41
refrain from religious education or activity . The dominant religion in Japan is
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Buddhism with 90 million followers at the end of 1994. Christianity is also active
with 1.5 million believers. Apart from these two there are approximately 100,000
41
Muslims residing in the country . The Japanese regard Confucianism as a code of
moral precepts rather than a religion, although its influence has declined since the
41
Second World War .
4.2.6 Leisure and Lifestyle
The Japanese have begun to pay more attention to leisure in recent years.
According to a survey by the Leisure Development Centre, the proportion of people
who attach greater importance to leisure than to work is growing year by year. In
1995 the proportion of respondents who said that leisure was more important
(35%) exceeded those who said work was more important (34%), although only by
31
one percent .
Favourite leisure activities include eating out, domestic travel, karaoke, and for
those who can afford it, foreign travel. The top ten destinations that Japanese
desire to visit are Bali Island, Las Vegas, New York, Seoul, Oahu (Honolulu),
London, Maldives, Paris, Vietnam, and Tahiti. The countries that Japanese have
the most positive feelings towards are in order of preference, USA, China, EU
31
member countries, ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries .
The Japanese are generally adapting to the global village of the Internet and are
quite advanced in new technologies, although this does not mean that the average
household has access to them. Nevertheless, Japan has long been a leader in
high-tech fields such as electronics, digital technologies and manufacturing
equipment. Its consumers like gadgets: 40% have cellular phones and 70% of all
42
households have video game players. Japanese realise the importance of
computer literacy in today‟s information society. Japan has about 10% of the
43
world‟s Internet users who have access to a flow of information that never
44
stops. For this reason there will be changes in the structure of Japanese society,
for example in the way government agencies face the public.
Japanese citizens have the greatest and most direct contact with local
governments. With improvements in the speed, capacity and flexibility in hardware
to access and download information, some Japanese foresee local government
offices „staying open for business‟ through the Internet, enabling citizens to register
important events from the convenience of their own home. Japanese predict
computers being installed at convenience stores for those citizens who do not
have computers of their own. Equally, many Japanese now have the means for
direct access to individuals, commercial establishments, corporations and
government agencies in order to communicate their opinions and demands without
having to go through intermediaries. Individuals also have access to the same
45
sources of information that political and business leaders have.
Teleworking, working from home via the Internet, offers greater choices for
employment. Although working at home or at satellite offices has been carried out
since the 1980s, the concept of teleworking has only recently become a viable
alternative for Japanese. Teleworking is seen as useful, for example, in helping
workers who must care for frail elderly parents and who cannot work at an office
during regular hours. Furthermore, with teleworking, the number of individuals with
46
special needs that can become employable will increase.
Japan is a technologically advanced country which has developed many important
technologies. Examples are Gallium-Nitride blue LEDs and lasers have started to
replace light bulbs in high value applications such as traffic lights. These were
developed at a relatively small company, Nichia, outside the conventional
mainstream Japan. This company has up to two years advance in technology and
patent coverage that reflects how long inventions take to become general
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knowledge outside of Japan. The next generation combination of mobile phones
and computing will be first in service in Japan and there are up to two million
47
Internet users accessing the web via mobile phone terminals.
Japanese electronics makers are renowned for their ability to fit multiple functions
into a single machine. One such company has come up with yet another unique
combination, The Internet Microwave Oven. It follows cooking instructions taken
from the Web and also has more than 50 installed recipes. In order to operate
most current electronic appliances, the user must physically be close to the
machine. Connecting appliances via the Internet to computers and other terminals
will make them much more user friendly and users will be able to check the
contents of their fridges or turn the lights on at home whilst they are out shopping.
If such appliances prove popular, demand for electronics will surge as people
trade in their old appliances, helping to activate the market. According to
estimates by the home electronics industry, the value of the market for network-
48
related goods will rise to US$219 billion.
A further example of technological advances is the farming village of Katsurao.
The experiment carried out here shows how attitudes towards technological
appliances are open and that even Japanese in rural areas are adapting. Its 470
households are connected to the KMMV, a system of videophones allowing
families to stay in touch with each other, the village office, hospitals and schools.
One of the most useful functions of this network is remote medical examinations.
Katsurao, like many small farming communities, lacks medical facilities, which
means this network makes health care possible for all. In addition, the KMMV
network also allows video conferencing. In light of this, the Katsurao village office
has been offering monthly lectures over the video network with an interactive
question and answer session afterwards. Users of all ages have adapted to this
experiment and use the network in their daily lives. The network is seen as a
device to combat urbanisation and the dropping and ageing of village
49
populations.
In February 2000, the Prime Minister‟s Commission on Japan‟s Goals in the 21st
Century published its report, entitled “The Frontier Within: Individual Empowerment
50
and Better Governance in the New Millennium” . It indicates some of the political,
social and cultural changes that prominent Japanese thinkers consider essential
st
for the country to adopt in the 21 century. The report proposes that two major
changes are needed to release Japan‟s potential: a change in the methods and
systems whereby citizens interact with the state and redefining and rebuilding the
relationship between the individual and the public domain.
Among the recommendations that will have an important impact on Japan‟s use of
technology, and assistive technology are:
Increasing “global literacy” so that Japanese people can freely and
immediately obtain information from the rest of the world, understand it, and
express their own ideas clearly. The basic elements of this new literacy are
the mastery of IT tools such as computers and the Internet, and the mastery of
English as the international language.” This is in sharp contrast to the
attitudes of the last decade. The first Internet provider was shut down. It is
proposed that English should be adopted as the country‟s official second
language.
Upgrading Japan‟s IT infrastructure and strengthening its IT training.
Transforming education to overturn its excessive degree of homogeneity and
uniformity. One proposal is to compress a carefully selected curriculum into
three days a week, with the other two days tailored to the needs of individual
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students.
Changing from governing to governance. In the past, priority has been given to
the state, the bureaucracy and organisations, and governance is seen as a
top-down or public-sector to private-sector process. To build a new form of
governance, the report proposes articulation of rules, disclosure and sharing of
information, presentation of options, transparent and rational decision making
and steady implementation of policy decisions, with assessment and review. It
proposes that the government‟s role should be strictly limited to those areas
that the private sector is incapable of handling.
In science and technology, the report stresses the need to promote Japan‟s
advances, especially those of e-commerce, but at the same time stress the
importance of Japanese life being both “spiritually as well as materially
50
affluent” .
The report acknowledges that the ageing of the population is progressing
faster in Japan than anywhere else.
4.2.7 Social Security
The existing social security system consists of five divisions: public assistance,
welfare services, social insurance (medical care, pensions, child allowances,
unemployment insurance, and worker‟s accident compensation), public health, and
51
the public service pension and assistance for war victims . There is a two-tiered
pension system consisting of the national pension plan, to which all citizens
belong, and pensions and mutual aid associations set up to cover the employees
51
of various public and private sector organisations . There is pressure on the
Japanese government to restructure its social security system to adapt to an age
where a significantly higher proportion of the population are old aged and where
there is less care provided within the family for both the elderly and the disabled
due to the changes in Japanese society.
4.2.8 Citizens with Disabilities and Universal Access
There is legislation that addresses the responsibility of the government to provide
for society‟s welfare and the rights of Japanese citizens to employment and equal
opportunities in education. Globalisation and the influence of Western values has
had an effect on a society that in the past, kept disabled and handicapped people
out of sight. The official numbers of mentally and physically disabled are a
reflection of this attitude. According to a report by the Japan Economic Institute in
October 1992, approximately 2% of the population were handicapped in some
way. An indication that this number is too low is the US ratio of 17%. This could
also be a reflection of what each country chooses to define as disabled. The
majority of physically disabled Japanese are handicapped because of a limb or
body trunk impairment considered severe enough to interrupt daily activities. This
group accounts for roughly 60% of the disabled population. Another 13% have
severe visual impairment; 15% have hearing or language disabilities; about 12%
suffer from permanent internal disorders such as heart or lung deficiencies. An
estimated 7% have multiple physical impairment. The mentally disabled include
both the people with mental retardation and those suffering from schizophrenia or
other mental illnesses. The figures for these cases are quite vague, although
internationally recognised trends lead psychiatrists to calculate that schizophrenia
alone affects 1% of every population, while depression impacts an estimated 5%
52
to 6% .
The need for caring institutions for the disabled or elderly is increasing as society
changes with the acceptance of the disabled but also as the number of elderly
increases and the traditional family structure in which the disabled and elderly
would have been looked after disintegrates. Furthermore, the scarcity of the
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helpers and the variations of staffing around the country leave little assurance that
52
everyone who wants help can get it .
Several laws referring to employment or vocational training for disabled people
have been passed and revised since 1947. Quotas that companies must fulfil
have been introduced to ensure an uptake of disabled people into the work force.
In 1976 fines were levied for companies who did not adhere and in 1987 these
laws took up individuals with mental retardation. Although job quotas in Japan do
not mandate equal job opportunities, they do intend to encourage mainstreaming
52
of disability . Generally speaking it is difficult to obtain information on specific
legislation that guarantees universal access for the disabled.
Japan has a further problem encouraging equal access. It intends to allow
universal access to all through education but sends disabled children to separate
schools thereby not integrating them in society. They are made to feel different
52
although accepted . Even so, as the disabled president of the Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities, Justin Dart, points out, Japan is moving
towards the integration and respect for people with disabilities based upon the
models from abroad, and “if the Japanese decide they can do it, they will do it and
52
do it better” .
4.2.9 The Use of Assistive Technology
In the past the development of assistive technology has been limited, mainly
because Japanese society failed to recognise disability. People with disabilities
were in effect hidden away. Some mechanical aids such as wheelchairs were
imported, but these were often inappropriate for small Japanese houses.
In the last decade, however, there has been an increasing awareness of disability
and the needs of people with disability, and there are now some excellent
examples of the application of advanced technological development to assistive
technology.
53
Companies such as “Technoworks” are working on projects to alleviate access
to computer facilities for the physically impaired. For example an “eye behaviour
interface” exists that replaces a mouse and also can be used to enhance self-
support for handicapped people, allowing them to be independent of nursing
assistance in operating assistive equipment. Users do not need any knowledge of
53
the complex systems they are operating . Wearable computers is a further
54
innovation in this field, along with computers that recognise sign language.
Developments reported at the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of Japan
55
(RESJA) annual conference are wide ranging and include memory aids for
people with dementia; assistive devices for children and their parents to play
together; and an impedance sensor switch for the locked-in syndrome patient.
The signs are that Japan is now applying its knowledge of advanced technologies
to assistive technology. Cultural changes, particularly the promotion of
individualism rather than collective or institutional structures are likely to support
recognition of the needs of disabled people as individuals.
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4.3 USA
The most important factor to note about the USA is that the individual is central to
an American consciousness. This is reflected in policies such as welfare and
health insurance. At the same time it is even manifested in the constitution that
universal access must be granted to all assets that allow the individual to prosper
within society. An example of this is the idea that telephone lines and postal
service must be accessible by everyone and there is a great deal of talk about
subsidising the universal access of the Internet. In this current age the lack of
access to the network would mean that such individuals were at a severe
disadvantage. It is the widespread notion that individuals cannot effectively
participate in the democratic process if they do not have equal and unrestricted
access to the main methods of communication and transportation. Thus, as
increasing fractions of the population become connected to a network, those left
unconnected become a larger burden to the democratic principle, whereas the
cost of subsidising their inclusion becomes ever smaller. This means a policy of
guaranteeing equal access is necessary to ensure the desired society in which
56
equal opportunities are enabled.
But there is a big difference between the ideology and the reality. The Americans
explain this as a contrast between “equality of opportunity” with “equality of
outcome”: people are supposed to get a fair shot at improving their lives, but there
is little patience with those who miss their opportunities or expect more of them
than others get. With respect to disability, the overall public perception is very
positive: people with disabilities are entitled to whatever it takes (including AT) to
get their fair shot. The public is generally less patient, however, with definitions of
disability that include mental health problems, drug abuse, and AIDS.
4.3.1 Economy
The USA has the most powerful, diverse, and technologically advanced economy
in the world. Its per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the largest among
industrial nations at 33 000 euro, as of 1999. The economy is market-orientated
with most decisions made by private persons and businesses and with
government purchases of goods and services made predominantly in the market
place. US businesses enjoy far more flexibility than their counterparts in Western
Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay-off surplus workers,
and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers of entry
into other countries as regards foreign investment when their own requirements for
foreign investment are low. Since the early 1980‟s the USA has been experiencing
steady growth in the standard of living. Growth slowed in 1990 due to the world
wide increase in interest rates, Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August, the subsequent
rise in oil prices, and a general decline in consumer confidence, but picked up
57
again to reach 4.1% in 1999.
Long-term problems the USA faces are the lack of investment in an economic
infrastructure, sizeable trade deficits and the stagnation of family income in the
lower economic groups. The USA expects to experience a continually low
58
inflation . The USA is a leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified
and technologically advanced. Its main industries include petroleum, steel, motor
vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing,
58
consumer goods, lumber and mining .
In 1998 the real median household income was 40 785 euro, and the per capita
income was 25 500 euro in 1999. The average US citizen saved 2.4% of
disposable income. The poverty rate in the USA has decreased from 13.3% of the
population in 1997 to 12.7% in 1998. According to the US government the
definition of the poverty rate includes anyone living on less than 1300 euro per
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month (1996). On the other hand, independent researchers believe it to constitute
anyone living on less than 2880 euro per month, which would mean that 35% of
the population were living in poverty. The top 10% of the US population owned
80% of the nation‟s non-residential wealth in 1995, with an average annual income
of $150 000.
The average household pays 24% of its income in taxes, and the top 10% pay
59
29%. Owning one‟s own home is considered to be part of the American dream,
60
in 1990, about 64% of American households owned their own home. One
quarter of the population lived alone in 1999. Such households are usually to be
found in the larger cities such as New York.
4.3.2 Work and Employment
The American labour force is made up of 137.7 million of the 272.6 million citizens,
including the unemployed. In 1999, 66% were working outside the home, whilst
61
34% were working at home. It is interesting to note that in March 2000, 47% of all
Americans wished to be self employed, 21% would have liked to work for a small
62
company, 10% for a big company and 10% for a government agency. An article
published in the TIME magazine states, when commenting on who will be the new
elite in the US, “The credentials you will have to present to enter the virtual room
in which candidates for office are chosen, educational systems run, foreign
alliances forged and social arrangements set will not be family background or
educational achievement. It will be having started a successful business and
63
made a lot of money at it”
64
Labour force by occupation (excluding the unemployed)
Managerial and professional 29.6%
Technical, sales and administrative support 29.3%
Service industry 13.6%
Manufacturing, mining, transportation and crafts 24.8%
Farming, forestry and fishing 2.7%
The unemployment rate in March 2000 was 4.1%, a slight decreased from 4.5% in
64
1998 . Average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7% since the beginning of
1999.
The definition of an unemployed individual is someone who is between the age of
18 and 65 years, physically and mentally able to work and has been actively
seeking work during the four weeks that precede a survey. The number of
discouraged workers, those that are no longer seeking employment as they do not
65
believe they will find any, was 257,000 in March 2000 . The Gallup Organisation
found in their survey that 60% of the labour force thought it highly unlikely that they
will lose their job in the following twelve months, as opposed to 53% in 1989. Only
12% of the labour force thought it to be very likely that this would happen to
66
them.
The diffusion of information technologies and growth in electronic commerce have
affected the way businesses operate, forcing them to adopt flexible organisations
and generating operational efficiencies. Small businesses are competing globally
and multinationals are expanding their global operations. Increased competition,
global access and organisational change are affecting labour markets by
influencing employment demand, wages and skill requirements. By 2006, almost
half (49%) of the private workforce will be employed either by industries that
produce IT equipment or services or by industries that are heavy users of IT
equipment or services, up from 44% in 1989. Expanding Internet usage and
electronic commerce are contributing to increased demand for “core” IT workers
(computer scientists, engineers, programmers and systems analysts), but are also
generating new IT occupations, changing skill requirements for some non-IT
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occupations and raising the minimum skill requirements for many lower skilled
67
jobs .
As skill requirements have risen, so have wages paid to IT workers. The wage
gap between IT workers and all other workers continues to widen. In 1997,
workers employed in IT-producing industries earned 55 500 euro compared with
the economy-wide average of 31 000 euro. Labour markets are beginning to
respond. A significant and growing training infrastructure is emerging to train
workers for low to medium skill IT jobs – for example, through community colleges
and proprietary training and certification programmes. At the high end, enrolment
in the US four–year computer science programmes doubled between 1994 and
1997. Additionally, government, business and education have begun a number of
67
joint initiatives to increase the supply of IT workers .
4.3.2.1 Women in the Workforce
As opposed to women in Japan who have only just begun to break out of their
traditional constraining roles, women in the USA, and indeed the EU, have gone
beyond that stage and are now questioning their present acceptance and wish for
more. Stress-related problems rank highest amongst American women, who feel
the strain of being both employed and completing most household and child
rearing roles alone.
The unemployment rate for married mothers with children under 18 (3.3% in 1998)
has not changed from previous years. In contrast, the unemployment rate of
unmarried - single, widowed, separated or divorced mothers (9.3%) declined by
1.1% in 1998. There was little annual change in the unemployment rates for all
mothers whose youngest child was six to seventeen years old (4.1%), or for those
with pre-school children (6.5%). 74% of all American mothers are employed either
full time (40%) or part time (36%). A Canadian study for North America shows that
the current fertility rate is lower than required to sustain the population.
Furthermore, as women become more educated, articulate and employed, they
are waiting longer to have children. In 1997, 31% of first time births were to
women older than thirty compared to 19% a decade earlier.
A proposed amendment to the Constitution, would have given women equal status
to that of men, bu the Equal Rights Amendment has never been passed. A recent
survey by the Women‟s Bureau found that this equality was not happening as
much in practice as women wished. 79% of the women surveyed admitted to
either “liking” or “loving” the job they did, if they were employed, which 99% of
68
American women are at some time in their life . Nevertheless, women still feel
that their status is not recognised. This is reflected in the differences in pay
between men and women and in the apparent “glass ceiling” to senior managerial
positions. 61% of the women participating in the survey mention that they have
little or no possibilities of advancing within their job. Furthermore, women find that
the importance of childcare facilities or more flexible working hours because of
childcare commitments are not recognised by employers or public policy. 65% of
women say that “improving pay scales” is a high priority for change, and 49% say
68
that they do not get paid what they believe their job is worth . On the other hand, a
survey carried out amongst American men showed that 78% believed women
were receiving equal pay, whereas only 13% of the men questioned thought
women were receiving less than them or less than what their work was worth
69
(January 2000).
4.3.3 Population and Demographics
The population of the USA was 263,814,032 in 1995 in a country that is two and a
70
half times the size of Western Europe or one and a half times the size of Russia .
The age structure was such that 22% were between the ages of 0 and 14 years,
65% were between 15 and 64 years, and 13% were above 65 years, with 2/3 of
those over 65 female. The Population Growth Rate was 0.85% with a birth rate of
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15,25 births per 1000, and 8.38 deaths per 1000. The total fertility rate was 2.08
children per woman. A further interesting factor is the ethnic division in the USA.
83.4% of the population are white, 12.4% are black and 3.3% Asian. Native
71
Americans made up 0.8% of the population in 1992 . The USA calls itself a
„melting pot‟ of various ethnicities, and whereas the social status is not dependent
on ethnic origin, this basic human right is not always adhered to. Life expectancy
72
in 1999 for males is 72.95 years and for females is 79.67 years.
Similar to the EU and Japan, the USA has an ageing population. In 1997, the
percentage of the population that is elderly was 13%. From 1995 to 2010, the
percentage of elderly is expected to increase by 17% from 33.5 million to 39.4
million. From 2010 to 2030, the population of elderly is expected to grow by 75%.
The ageing of the population is a result of the declining fertility rate, and a direct
consequence of the ageing of the “baby-boom” generations born between 1946
73
and 1964. They will begin to reach the age of 60 by 2006 . The measure for this
is the rise in the median age of the population and the rise in the percent of the
73
population aged 65 years and over . This has similar social, economic and
political implications for American society as it does in Japan and the EU.
Nevertheless, the birth and fertility rates are higher in the USA than in the EU,
meaning that the USA will not experience such a shrinking of the work force as the
EU, although there will still be a rise in the dependency ratio. Also, the emphasis
in American society does not necessarily seem to be on the earlier retirement of
citizens as so much on the maintenance of people‟s health in order for them to be
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able to work as long as possible and not have to retire so early. A survey
commissioned by the National Council on Ageing at the end of 1999 showed that
most Americans were optimistic about old age. This is seen to be a direct result of
health improvement, as only 32% of those over 65 and 39% of those under 65
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consider poor health to be problem.
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4.3.4 Education
The argument exists that American students lag behind other industrialised nations
with regards to education, despite reforms in recent years. This is acknowledged
to be true for elementary and secondary education, but not for college and
graduate study. It is on the other hand that the US competes internationally in
attracting so many foreign students, who then stay.
However, many see this not to be the most important focus of the educational
reformers. The greatest issue confronting today‟s schools is the need to respond
to the increasing diversity of the student population. Like in both Japan and
Europe, Americans realise the need for changes in the curriculum to create
individuals that are able to adapt to the technological advances and globalisation of
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an ever more international society.
Over the last three decades, the share of adults in the United States who have
some post-secondary education has been rising about 3% per year. Today almost
50% of all adults (and 55% of those under 35) have had at least one year of
college, and this is expected to rise to 55% by 2005.
Using the term college education to refer to education carried out at the end of
compulsory secondary school, college education tends to focus on learning how to
gather and analyse information rather than simply mastering factual material.
While the academic content of college courses varies, people who have had some
college study are more likely to be more analytical in gathering information about
purchasing decisions, and are often more sceptical of perceived authority.
Furthermore, they are likely to have used information technology at college. These
developments are similar to the conscious suggestions in the EU to change
traditional education structures to ones that are geared towards educating people
on how to use resources and know where to obtain the information they need,
rather than simply processing information.
Such individuals are likely to be far more sophisticated consumers and question
more, so as to make better-informed decisions. As a larger number of Americans
attain higher qualifications they are far more likely to work in jobs which pay higher
incomes; they have more money at their disposal to feed back into an economy,
which is increasing its productivity as its employees become more educated.
These people use information technology both at home and at work, and the
number of households that now own a PC in the States is 46%, and amongst
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college graduates the figure rises to 70% in 1996.
Of the new jobs that have been created in the last decade, the majority are
information-intensive occupations that require using, processing and analysing
information. In the USA, 49% of the newly created jobs are managerial or
professional, and a further 26% are technical, sales or administrative. These
information-intensive positions require the use of a PC or other type of computer.
Surveys carried out in the USA showed that in February 2000, 54% had used the
Internet in the last month, of which 42% spent more than five hours per week using
it. 62% believed that surfing the net was more beneficial than watching television,
although 59% conceded that they would rather watch television than surf the net.
A total of 44% of American homes had access to the Internet in 1999 as opposed
to 37% in 1998. Nevertheless, 41% in 1999 ( 47 % in 1998) did not have access
either at home or at work. 46% of the population were of the opinion that it had
improved their quality of life in some way, whereas only one percent of the
population felt it had worsened their life. 26% reckoned it had not made any
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difference to them.
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4.3.5 Religion
With an almost completely immigrant population the USA has no religious
heritage. In 1998, 56% of the population were Protestant, 28% were Roman
Catholic, 2% were Jewish, 4% were of other religions and 10% were not religious
at all. Constitutionally, the state and the church are separated and each citizen
has its right to belong to any religious community. The moral culture of the USA is
based upon liberal, (and rather non-liberal) Christian beliefs. In March 2000 26%
of the population supported the Conservative Christian political movement,
whereas in 1996, only 20% did so. When asked how often they attended a church
or synagogue, as of March 2000, 36% attended at least once a week, 11% almost
every week, 13% once a month, 30% seldom and 10% never. These figures are
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similar to those of 1996. While religion has remained a vibrant and vital part of
American society American religious society is a diverse one. Religion is a
significant factor in voting patterns, ideology about public policy and political
careers. Religion has been “privatised”, it is no longer an issue of collective public
concern, but one that the individual decides on and practices in private. There are
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far more “niche groups” that have their own particularities than ever before.
4.3.6 Social Security
The USA is not a country that provides compulsory or state funded health
insurance for its citizens, although it does have domestic government programmes
that provide economic protection for those Americans that are in disadvantaged
situations, such as disabled citizens.
The Social Security System is one that is based on a credit system. Those who
work collect credits that count towards eligibility for future Social Security benefits.
This reflects very much the meritocratic nature of the US society. Workers can
earn a maximum of four credits each year and most people need 40 credits to
qualify for any benefits. Exceptions and alleviations are made for younger people
with disabilities. The Social Security benefit is a percentage of earnings averaged
over the working lifetime. Social Security is not intended to be the sole income for
people who are disabled or retired, but is intended as a supplement to other
pension plans, savings and investments. Low income workers receive a higher
rate of return than those in the upper income brackets, but a worker with average
earnings can expect a retirement benefit that represents about 42% of their
average life time earnings. This reflects the liberal American notion of the
individual‟s responsibility. Further examples of this attitude are to be found in web
sites that intend to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a
prosperous and fair economy and what the citizen can do about this. However
strong the conviction that the individual should look out for him or herself, there are
many Americans who are dissatisfied with the absence of a more caring social
security system. There are increased demands for revisions of the health care
systems; fewer restrictions on unemployment insurance and implementation of
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family leave laws. At the same time, in March 2000 60% of American workers
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said they would opt out of Social Security if they could. This is because they
believe that any reliance on a government is far riskier than investing in health and
pension plans privately for oneself and one‟s family. Of course not everyone can
afford to do so, nevertheless this is an apt example of liberal American attitudes.
There are five major categories of benefits paid for through social security taxes:
Retirement benefits, Family benefits, Survivors benefits (widowed spouses) and
Medicare, the state funded health care plan that provides a minimum of health
care to those who cannot afford to pay for themselves, like pensioners and the
disabled. All other health insurance is private and optional. The state does not
regulate, fund or subsidise it through taxpayers‟ contributions.
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4.3.7 Citizens with Disabilities and Universal Access
The USA is quite advanced in its acceptance of disabled and its promotion of their
rights and integration. 17% of the American population is disabled, a figure that is
far more realistic than the Japanese one of 2%. An individual is disabled in the US
if he or she
has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of his
or her major life activities
has a record of such an impairment
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is regarded as having such an impairment .
Legislation on universal access is far more developed in the US than in Japan.
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The “Americans with Disabilities Act” and “The Accessibility Guidelines for
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Buildings and Facilities” were ground breaking, and followed by many more with
recent emphasis on telecommunications and IT accessibility: Rehabilitation Act
(1973 and amendments); Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act
(1988); Technology-Related Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities (“Tech”) Act
(1988); Hearing Aid Compatibility Act (1988); Television Decoder Circuitry Act
(1990); Americans with Disabilities Act (1990); Telecommunications Act (1996);
Workforce Investment Act (1998)
This background of legislation, and numerous private associations and lobby
groups provide far more of a forum for the integration of disabled in society.
Government institutions are in place to assist disabled people in their access to
information on help with disabilities. Such institutions include the “DeafWeb
Washington” that provides an interactive web site for people with hearing
disabilities. Other private institutions are ones like “Archimedes” whose mission is
to “promote equal access to information for individuals with disabilities by
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influencing the early design stages of tomorrow‟s computer-based technology”.
Disability Watch is a compendium of data on the status of Americans with
disabilities from Disability Rights Advocates and the Disability Statistics Center. It
offers advice and information as well as support to those who require it. It asks
whether the status of people with disabilities is improving in the US and looks at
factors such as employment, income, social participation and equal access. Their
main conclusion is that despite the fact that society is adjusting to accommodate
people with disabilities, not enough is being done. For example 81% of employers
report to have made adjustments in order to be able to employ people with
disabilities, and indeed pledge to privilege an applicant with disabilities over a non-
disabled applicant. This positive discrimination is in place as an attempt to further
the integration of people with disabilities rather than put non-disabled people at a
disadvantage. For example the rate of employment for people aged 16-24 with a
severe physical impairment increased from 27.6% in 1991 to 32.2% in 1994, on
the other hand people with any degree of functional limitation had a 48.6%
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employment rate both in 1991 and 1994.
Partly because people with disabilities are more likely to hold part-time jobs, their
earnings are lower than those of their non-disabled peers. In 1995, working men
with disabilities earned on average only 72.1% of the amount non-disabled men
earned annually, while working women with disabilities made 72.6% as much as
those women without disabilities. Median monthly income for men with work
disabilities averaged 1 970 euro in 1995, 20% less than their counterparts without
disabilities. Women with disabilities earned 1 580 euro, or 13% less than non-
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disabled women .
People with disabilities continue to live in relative social isolation. Among persons
living in the community rather than institutions, those with disabilities are twice as
likely to live alone than those without disabilities.
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According to administrative data from the US Department of education, 5.3 million
children and adolescents participate in federally supported programmes for
students with disabilities. Of the 4.7 million primary and secondary students with
disabilities, just over half are identified as having learning disabilities, while most of
the remaining students have speech or language impairments, mental retardation,
or serious emotional disturbances. Smaller numbers have hearing, orthopaedic or
visual impairments. The remaining 215,000 students include those identified as
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having multiple disabilities, other health conditions and deaf-blindness .
A large majority of students with disabilities (70.4% during the 1992-93 school
year) spend a substantial fraction of their day with non-disabled students and
spend the rest attending special lessons. 24.1% of all students with disabilities are
educated away from non-disabled students. Because of a strong belief in the
benefits of mainstream education for children with disabilities, as well as for their
non-disabled peers, recent national policy has promoted increased placement of
students with disabilities in integrated classrooms.
The likelihood of graduating from secondary education depends on the nature of
the disability, as does the means of graduation. Students with sensory
impairments are most likely to graduate, doing so mostly with standard diplomas.
Almost two thirds of students with orthopaedic impairments, mental retardation,
multiple disabilities, and learning disabilities graduate, although not necessarily
receiving ordinary diplomas. In post-secondary education, 6.3% of college
undergraduates and 4.0% of graduate and professional school students identify
themselves as having a disability.
Computer technology and the Internet have a tremendous potential to broaden the
lives and increase the independence of people with disabilities. These new
technologies hold great promise, however, only one quarter of people with
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disabilities own computers , although the computer technology itself is being used
to further the integration of people with disabilities into American society. Ultratec,
Weitbrecht Communications, Krown Research, Nxi Communications, the North
West Center for Emerging technologies are but few of the many researchers and
manufacturers of assistive technology in the US.
Finally, American society has seen an increase in people with disabilities in the
past quarter century. There are two distinct trends that have contributed to this.
Demographic shifts associated with an ageing population and a greater number of
children born (and surviving) with disabilities. Among people under 45 years of
age, the most dramatic changes in disability rates have occurred during the 1990s.
Among younger adults the proportion with activity limitation increased from 8.7% of
men and 8.9% of women in 1990 to 10.2% of men and 10.3% of women in 1994.
Among children under 18, disability rates underwent a similar increase between
1990 and 1994: from 5.6% to 7.9% for boys and from 4.2% to 5.6% for girls.
These changes may be partly accounted for by the increases in the prevalence of
asthma, mental disorders, mental retardation and learning disabilities that have
been noted among children in recent years. Among younger adults, rates of
orthopaedic impairments and mental and nervous disorders have gone up during
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the same period .
4.3.8 The Use of Assistive Technology
Disability has a high profile in the USA, but purchase of assistive technology is
generally seen as a private or personal affair, not one funded and carried out by
the state. This may lead to a weakness in service delivery. A „gadget‟ nation, the
USA spawns many devices, some of which may lack vigorous testing.
The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America
(RESNA) (which has recently added the words assistive technology to its title) runs
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a large annual conference and exhibition, with papers on a wide range of assistive
technology. However, at the European AAATE conference last year, it was noted
that American delegates felt that the USA talked about assistive technology, but
the Europeans got on and developed it, and that some assistive technology was
better developed in Europe.
4.4 Conclusions
1. The three major economic forces, Europe, Japan and USA, have had very
different cultures and values, but these are beginning to converge as a result
of globalisation.
2. Europe has the best developed welfare states or social security systems in
which disadvantaged and non-working citizens have been provided with
support via the taxation system. Universal health services have been
developed. The concept of universal access to all aspects of society for
disabled people is well accepted (although practice lags) and some European
countries have specific disability legislation which spells out the rights of
people with disabilities and the responsibilities of statutory bodies to meet their
needs.
But there has been a cost. Taxation as a proportion of GDP is higher in most
European countries than in Japan and the USA. The demand for services,
particularly healthcare has risen as citizens expectations of their health service
has increased with advances in healthcare. While the European countries with
well developed welfare services are not looking to abandon the welfare states
or social security systems that they have created they are looking at how best
to fund services and to encourage citizens to take more personal
responsibility.
3. In European countries where state support for people who are unable to work,
or have disabilities has been strong, there is a move towards a combination of
the state and the individual each taking some responsibility rather than only
the state. This can be viewed as a move from a rather paternalistic
relationship of the state to its citizens to a more „adult‟ partnership between
state and individual. Some countries have a system where a range of
services are provided by private or commercial organisations and funded by
private but compulsory contributions, and others are looking at this principle.
This is in effect a move towards individualism, where citizens take more
personal responsibility for contributing to, and selecting, care and health
services that meet their individual needs. Furthermore, many of the services
are being organised and run by commercial rather than state-run
organisations. And while many of the care services and assistive devices are
still purchased by state organisations, a private market is developing too.
These changes are likely to stimulate the markets for care services
(particularly home care) and for assistive technology. There is a need for
quality assurance in the system, and this is most likely to be provided by the
statutory bodies, and /or self-regulation mechanisms in the caring industry
itself. For assistive technology, a lesson can be drawn from the USA, which
has spawned a vast array of devices aimed at individual purchases, some of
which are dubious in quality or ability to do the job. One possibility would be to
stimulate development of a „quality mark‟ which could be awarded to assistive
technology devices which have been tried and tested by relevant users,
through bodies which represent those users (charities, disabled user groups
etc).
4. One further important social change is the increase in the proportion of young
people who have extended (post-school) education. This trend, which is
evident in Europe, USA and Japan, means that there will be a growing
proportion of people who are educated to a higher standard, and who will
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make higher demands on services, but are more likely to have the resources
to pay for these services. Expectations are likely to be pushed up this group.
The challenge will be in providing a high level of care service universally, if that
is a social goal.
5. Japan has been a very centralised country, where the collective society was
more important than the individual, but this is beginning to change. There are
signs that the culture is starting to move towards more individualism, and there
is more emphasis on personal pleasure. Disabled people were not really
acknowledged in the past, although again this is now changing. In the last
decade Japan fought to protect its culture from outside influence, for example,
closing down the first Internet service provider, but is now embracing the
effects of globalisation, and has convinced itself at the highest government
levels that there is more to be gained than lost by this inevitable trend. The
acknowledgement by government that its citizens should be literate in English,
the dominant world language, and in ICT skills are important signs of a
changing attitude. Changes in practise, particularly in large corporations that
are still run by an old hierarchy may, however, be slower.
6. The USA focuses on individual rights and entitlements with legislation to back
this up. With respect to assistive technology, this has meant that public
programs serving people with disabilities are required to address technology
options. The impetus in assistive technology is towards legislation and
regulation in mainstream technology. The USA can be seen at the centre of
globalisation. Because of the country‟s vast economic and mass media force,
its language (English) has become the most important language. American
films dominate the film scene almost world wide and the American TV news
channel CNN is amongst the best known in the world, often shown in
European airports. American computer technology has shaped the world-wide
computer industry. Individualism is central to American culture which is built
on meritocracy (particularly the ability to make money). It is evident in
disability legislation which emphasises the rights of individual people with
disabilities to have equal access to services and to society as a whole. Sales
of assistive technology are aimed at individuals rather than statutory bodies.
But American society is more polarised; there is a much greater gap between
the „haves and have nots‟. While Europe and Japan are moving towards more
individualism, and employment patterns which may increase polarisation (eg
periods of unemployment, or groups of people who are do not have relevant
skills and are not employed) it is unlikely that their citizens will find the wholly
American model acceptable. From a European perspective with its legacy of
state provision (particularly of welfare services) American society lacks
important elements that make it a truly collective society. European culture
places more value on aspects of life other than work, and there are signs that
attitudes to work are changing in Japan too – people are beginning to demand
more leisure time. So while globalisation (in social terms) might be viewed by
some as „Americanisation‟, the next decade may see influences and cultural
attitudes from other cultures (eg Europe, Asia) being shared around the world,
particularly when it comes to the provision of services and assistive devices for
elderly and disabled people.
7. There is a general trend towards more flexible working practises stimulated by
new technologies. The more common use of home working will potentially
improve employment prospects for some disabled people. This will help
financially, but as importantly, to the social status of people where they are
judged by their occupation, particularly in the USA.
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5 Technology Transfer
5.1 Terms of reference
During the study the Commission Services asked the study team to provide some
insight into the process of technology transfer. Specifically it asked:
What has happened in the past for technology to transfer from the mainstream
to assistive technology domain?
Who are they key players in technology transfer?
Is there better technology transfer in some countries compared to others?
How do market relations and specificities affect technology transfer?
Due to the nature of technology transfer in the assistive technology domain it is not
possible to give as clear-cut answers as the Commission Services would like.
We have looked at examples of technology transfer from mainstream to assistive
technology domains. Following the track record of innovations, the research,
development and the transfer processes, we have observed a multitude of
approaches, some of which would appear to be very much of an ad-hoc nature.
Subjectively judged, it seems that the best results are obtained if the process of
transfer is well thought through and explicitly organised. To demonstrate this we
have described, in section 5.3, the typical characteristics of today's assistive
technology market.
In section 5.4 we have identified technology transfer mechanisms described for the
assistive technology domain and identified the profiles of the key players in these
mechanisms.
Finally in sections 5.6, 5.7, and 5.8 and we describe real life technology transfer
initiatives that have been instigated in the USA, Europe and Japan.
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5.2 Introduction
What is technology transfer?
… the process that promotes the integration of creative works of university faculty,
staff and students to public use and/or commercial application through patenting,
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licensing and start-up formation .
… the process by which existing knowledge, facilities or capabilities developed
under (US) federal R&D funding are utilised to fulfil public and private needs.
Although this process can be very simple or quite complex, it basically involves a
technical resource, a user, and some interfaces connecting the two. Technology
transfer includes a range of formal and informal co-operation between technology
developers and technology seekers. In addition, technology transfer involves the
transfer of knowledge and technical-know-how as well as physical devices and
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equipment .
… for products, is the transfer from the laboratory to a private company for
manufacture, marketing and sales; and for research, is the transfer of information
in the form of a paper or publication which is then used by another laboratory,
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researcher or clinician .
… all activities concerned with the transformation of new technology into
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innovation and various means by which technological knowledge is spread .
… the process which concerns the flow of products, processes and relating
findings directly resulting from laboratory work, leading to their dissemination,
adoption and use by individuals and organisations outside the (development)
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center .
The transfer of technology is not a simple process or procedure that can be taken
“off the shelf”. A large variety of circumstantial factors determine which optimal
procedure should be followed. The type of technology to be transferred is a
dominant factor in selecting the best strategy for technology transfer.
A very rough division could be made between the transfer of:
product-based 'narrow' technology (micro-level),
'broad' and generic technology which can be used in several products (macro-
level).
There are very few broad technologies developed within the assistive technology
market. However, many developed in the mainstream markets are changing the
scene of assistive technology. Computing and telematics, are two examples that
give major opportunities in assistive technology. The technology transfer models
needed for applying broad technologies should be open and flexible. They should
allow a large number of prospective technology providers to be monitored and for
the appropriate selection of the best choice for the development of an assistive
technology product. Keeping up to date with this technology is not a simple task for
the assistive technology sector and requires a relatively large effort.
Some mainstream generic technologies have partly relied on the demand for them
in the assistive technology domain. An example is speech technology where in the
early stages the research funds were often motivated by the importance of the
technology to people with disability. Some of the funding has been provided
directly by funds for disabled people.
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Other examples are somewhat anecdotal but are nevertheless originating from the
needs of people with disabilities:
The commonly used ballpoint pen has been an important innovation for people
with problems with gripping and hand-control. While looking for assistive
technology solutions it became evident that the development could lead to
demand in a very large mainstream market;
The cassette recorder is a similar example: being badly needed by blind
people for speaking books and letters etc. the need for a simple and reliable
tape-recorder for the mainstream market was obvious.
The narrow technology, a single product, where one or a number of new
technologies, materials or components are integrated into a useful application, is
more common in the assistive technology domain. In this case the components
are not necessarily the ultimate state of the art, for these are often too expensive
and not cost effective. The technology transfer will be much more directly related
to the detailed market mechanisms. The assistive technology market structure is
relatively complex due to the high number of intermediaries (prescriber, advisor,
procurer and deliverer/after sales support), that are involved in the process.
5.3 Characteristics of the assistive technology
market
The assistive technology market in Europe can be characterised as being
dominated by SME‟s addressing local, regional and sometimes national markets,
and occasionally international markets. The companies tend to specialise in
particular sectors and address narrow market segments. The assistive technology
market in Europe is fragmented.
Another characteristic is its oligopolistic structure justified by the relatively small
number of companies that are active in the field. Because of this structure the
assistive technology market is not very sensitive to technological advances. Prices
remain at relatively high levels due to high development costs and the fact that
competition does not effect so much prices but product differentiation.
Another reason for the assistive technology market remaining oligopolistic is the
intervention of third party purchasers or intermediary organisations that are given,
by law, the task of assessing disabled and elderly people, and prescribing
solutions. Such organisations prefer dealing with a few larger companies rather
than with many smaller ones. This market structure in conjunction with the
inefficient distribution channels provided by the provision system have created
communication gaps between market actors and the end users. Field actors do
not have sufficient knowledge of the end user needs and requirements which is
necessary to produce high quality products. Efficient and clearly identifiable
channels for collaboration during product development are lacking. There is a
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frequent absence of appropriate information and collaboration.
There are numerous companies in the European assistive technology industry due
to the differing needs of different types of impairments. Most of them are small
companies and many are both manufacturers and distributors. In spite of the fact
that the industrial situation is primarily competitive, different forms of coherence
exist between the industries and also between other actors in the assistive
technology field.
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According to the HEART study (1993), Line B , the numerous mainstream
industries may have an impact on the assistive technology sector by making their
products and services accessible to the assistive technology customers. They
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have a large technical potential which can be of use for assistive technology.
Therefore Heart Line B studied the actual and possible links between assistive
technology and mainstream industries in the IT&T (Information Technology and
Telecommunications) sector, especially the technology area of „new media‟,
(defined as any system which could carry information on a combination of more
than two media). It was an emerging technology allowing information to be
available and presented simultaneously in more than one medium, and the
technology includes hardware products and software as well as transmission
networks. New media products affect the living environment of the entire
population, at home, work and leisure. People have to deal with a larger amount of
information accessible through terminals. A wide range of services is already
available to customers directly through their workstation at work or on their
multimedia terminal at home.
The new media technologies are so complex, leading to a restructuring of the
telecommunication, computer, audio-visual and electronics equipment industry,
that no single firm can master all current technologies in order to propose global
solutions. The early 1990s saw an explosion of agreements and collaboration
between the market actors. In 1993 the main transformation that took place in the
new media area was the translation of all information - video, audio, data - into
digital data. For this purpose standardisation was and still is an important issue.
Technology transfer links were ongoing at international level between
standardisation organisations, and also between industries. Now, in 2000, the
transformation of disseminating information is focused on different networks with
the Internet as the main opportunity.
Most ongoing technology transfer activity in 1993 was in the R&D area via
consortia set up among universities, assistive technology industries and
mainstream industries as pan-European partnerships. Another typical link was that
companies from the new media sold components to the assistive technology
companies which carried out the adaptations and develop applications for special
needs. Furthermore links were found with handicap organisations and individuals.
The type of links differed from hiring people, professional training and education,
teleworking, equipment procurement, sub-contracting and product development
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Line F from the Heart Study (1994) investigated the barriers of and possibilities
for technology transfer for the assistive technology market. They concluded that
the existing companies did not have the required knowledge to monitor emerging
technologies and assess their potential impact on the assistive technology
industry. Mainstream companies were not aware of the possibilities offered by the
assistive technology industry and were thus unable to locate and exploit innovation
opportunities within the assistive technology field. Impeding factors investigated for
the technology transfer and thus innovation were:
1. limited and inefficient interaction between the market elements research,
development, production, procurement, service delivery and usage;
2. the structural characteristics of the European assistive technology market
relating to the type and size of actors, competitive strategies and level of
knowledge; and
3. a lack of a concise set of complementary and supportive actions towards the
promotion of an environment favourable to industrial innovation and transfer of
technologies within the European assistive technology market .
Such actions should be regulative in nature and targeted towards policy variables
such as standardisation, legislation and social policy.
Technology transfer is seen by most companies as the adaptation of an available
technology to improve the company‟s product or productivity. A second large group
of companies also considers reviewing technologies developed somewhere else
as a form of technology transfer. The lack of knowledge of end user needs and
requirements, and the lack of availability is experienced by most companies as the
most important determinants of the sub-optimal situation concerning technology
transfer and innovation possibilities. Furthermore, the flow of technology transfer in
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the assistive technology market is not bilateral from industry to university or
research organisation and vice versa, because of:
the relatively small size of the assistive technology industry compared to the
research market element;
the lack of large firms with R&D specialised in assistive technology;
and the fact that the existing assistive technology actors, mainly the SME‟s,
are under-financed.
5.4 The roles of the actors in the AT market
Many organisations and community bodies are involved in the Assistive
Technology market as a whole. The chain of fundamental research, application
research, development, implementation to the field, marketing and improving the
product and generating/raising new questions for research is a cycle that is
influenced by the following major types of institutions/bodies:
R&D institutions: AT research is largely dependent on the fundamental R&D in
other technology sectors while at the same time it should be driven forward by
the problems of the disabled and elder persons. Getting tuned into the
problems of this field is not easy for R&D in AT. Also transfer to industry in AT
is a major problem due to the size and diversity of the markets.
Industry (large industries and small and medium enterprises): AT-industry is
mostly small or medium sized. Co-operation with larger industries for
technology transfer and marketing has been a recommendation from the
HEART study which has not been taken up sufficiently.
Social service, delivery and procurement: an important factor is that the social
system has also to accept the new innovative products and the way this is
done varies from EU country to country. Involving them in the innovation
process has been another a recommendation which is not often implemented.
User organisations and users: efforts has been made to make user-influence
within the innovation process more efficient (eg FORTUNE project), but this is
still minimal.
Rehabilitation professionals and their organisations: many of the EU countries
have adopted in principle, or in practice, the so-called medical model where
advice and decision making is largely dependent on the professionals in the
field (medical doctors and therapists/advisors).
National and EU-policy makers: regulations and policies change and develop
gradually to an agreed way of working in providing aids and accepting new
aids. Closer involvement of the policy makers in the innovation process is
needed.
Two major EU-funded studies dealt with the description of these bodies and their
interrelationships: The CORE project (1994) trying to generate some modelling of
the market and the HEART project (1996) dealing with various specific aspects in
Europe like Service Delivery, Industrial Networking, Standardisation as the most
relevant ones related to this study. Although the specific outcomes of these studies
are dated (figures and situations has been changed), the generic outcomes, and
the models used to describe the situation are still highly relevant.
Considering the above list of influential bodies in relation to an innovation process
some conclusions can be drawn:
Making the right connections between the bodies that are involved in the AT
market, is essential. Often these bodies are very much distributed according
the type of products. The term brokerage is applicable here when a particular
R&D institution looks for the right connection with a (typically small) specialised
company as well as larger industry for general support of the innovation.
Optimal co-operation will often be a cross border affair and therefore an EU
role can be appropriate.
The innovation process is long and, because of its innovative nature, it is
largely considered unpredictable. Critical aspects can be anticipated if a
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systematic screening process is carried out. An example of a screening
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method is given in the references. This screening method deals with:
technical quality, safety requirements, functionality relative to alternative
solutions, prescription practice, efficiency of the product, implementation
barriers, quality of life improvement, and economic feasibility aspects.
Research and development in AT and the implementation and marketing is a
long route due to the steps listed above and the approval of the products
needed before prescription and delivery can take place. The time depends on
the type of the innovation; a more innovative product will take longer than
when a product is marginally updated. Because of the long term innovation
routes, it is likely that partners will or must change and those more interested
in the marketing and sales will only enter the process when a prototype version
is validated.
Many of the AT products dealing with information and communication
technology are technically complex, and are a part of a larger system,
sometimes completely dependent on a service organisation: social alarm
centre or call-centre etc. The combination of features constitutes the
functionality as a whole and a clear splitting of the contributions of the partners
in a consortium is not possible anymore. A debate on intellectual property
rights may result, which can paralyse the commercialisation of the product. It is
often seen that end results of good R&D co-operation is not exploited
effectively, possibly for this reason. A more clear approach in allocating the
property rights is needed. Models used in the CRAFT programme may, finally,
give a better throughput (CRAFT funds go to the R&D partners covering the
R&D costs; in return the industrial partner gets the right for exploitation and is
also much more directive in deciding the course of action to be taken in the
projects).
Europe lacks the USA‟s industrial climate where risk taking and grasping of
opportunities are more common.
There is a trend towards the use of personal data in the organisation and
provision of care. Privacy laws might become a hindrance and barrier for many
of the innovative applications. A course of action to take is to safeguard the
eventual misuse of information by proper design and also to let the end-user
be in full control of the accessibility of the data. Mobility, tracing and tracking,
new communication forms and interventions made possible by using intelligent
sensors will run into problems of an ethical nature and these issues need to be
addressed in a sensitive way. Development work should be allowed to
continue to at least a stage where the benefits can be appreciated by the end-
users who can make up their own minds.
5.5 Mechanisms (models) of technology transfer
5.5.1 Causal diagram of Technology Transfer (CORE, 1995):
The CORE project team developed a causal diagram for the process of technology
transfer in 1995. In this causal diagram links are shown between the basic model
of the three main influencing factors knowledge infrastructure, technology transfer
mechanisms and absorptive capacity on technology transfer. In addition is the
influence of government with its innovation stimulation instruments such as funding
of R&D on the basic model.
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Technology Transfer
Knowledge Absorptive
mechanism
Infrastructure Capacity
Funding
Innovation Stimulation
instruments
Government
5.5.1.1 Influencing factors of technology transfer
Knowledge/Information infrastructure:
This is the way knowledge/information is offered and/or gained. A good qualitative
and quantitative knowledge infrastructure and innovation milieu is of major
importance for assistive technology companies. This is stimulated by governments
of all European countries. Government involvement is a factor which can be
important for the improvement of the knowledge infrastructure of assistive
technology companies. Government involvement can be funding of several
innovation stimulation instruments such as R&D programmes and projects, which
on their turn can stimulate the set up of information sources and co-operation
networks between market actors such as companies and other R&D actors such
as universities and laboratories. The relation of project funding and the different
information sources of a company is an important one
Technology Transfer mechanisms:
Mechanisms that increase the awareness of, and access to, the knowledge
infrastructure of a company. Technology transfer mechanisms influence the
external as well as the internal knowledge infrastructure of an assistive technology
company. The funding of R&D programmes and projects, which can increase the
co-operation between assistive technology companies and other R&D actors is a
technology transfer mechanism. The network of an assistive technology company
increases and the information flow towards the company grows. The project
funding also enables the company to commit time for the particular project and
R&D topic for the whole project duration.
Absorptive capacity of a company:
This is the ability of a company to transform gained knowledge into innovation. The
company cannot just apply an external innovation, it has to translate or adapt this
knowledge to its own needs. The company will have to invest in further
development and learning of how to fit the innovation into its own organisation.
This „learning by using‟ process depends on the quality of the personnel which
needs to be able to recognise the possible value of external information and needs
to adapt the information to the special requirements of the company. This can be
stimulated by funding of technology transfer programmes and projects that can
help by enabling the recruitment of research and development personnel and the
appropriate training.
In general little attention is paid to the knowledge infrastructure. The knowledge
and information structure has to deal with regional, national and international co-
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ordination, which is not done well. Much of the research is hampered on the way to
implementation due to this aspect of insufficient organisation and "horizontal"
transfer of knowledge. Although there have been many company mergers in the
past ten years, on the whole, very large companies have not evolved.
European programming might be more effective if it coincided with national
programmes and vice versa.
5.5.2 Veterans Administration Technology Transfer model
(Weisgerber and Armstrong, AIR 1989):
The technology transfer model of Weisgerber and Armstrong is focused on the
American situation from the viewpoint of the Federal and VA laboratories and
Rehabilitation Research and Development (RR&D) Centers.
Shift from push to pull in R&D
A model for technology transfer was created in a project called AIR in the late
1980‟s. The basic view of this model was that the laboratories should design
products that are responsive to the needs in the field and supply them to users (a
pull strategy). A shift of thinking for the investigators was about when and how to
involve the manufacturers in the design and production process.
The model
The VA technology transfer model exists of three levels: the macro-, the micro-
and the product interaction level which is product-specific (see section 8).
5.5.3 Technology Transfer model for industrial
competitiveness (Lane, 1999)97
The following model is made by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center
on Technology Transfer (T2-RERC), connected to the University of Buffalo. It is
directed at the entire technology transfer process to which factors such as multiple
activities, events and stakeholders contribute.
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The sine wave of the figure represents the technology transfer process as it
progresses from left to right, and the horizontal axis represents the environmental
context in which the technology transfer process occurs.
The technology transfer process progresses from idea through prototype to
product. The technology transfer encompasses both technologies and products. In
the figure the technology-related activity is on the left side, and the product-related
activity is on the right side. In between is the technology-to-product transformation
with in the middle the prototype event.
Technology producers (TP): a technology is developed by technology producers
and then transferred to technology consumers (at the left side of the figure). The
TP are the people who conduct the technology application activity and first
generate the idea for matching a technology to a new application. This group
includes independent inventors, and R&D people at universities or federal or
corporate laboratories.
Technology consumers (TC): the technology consumers translate the idea into a
prototype technology. TC include government agencies, private sector
manufacturers or intellectual property brokers.
Product producers (PP): product producers transform the technologies into
products in order to sale them to product consumers in the marketplace (at the
right side of the figure). PP include manufacturers, distributors and value-added
retailers.
Product consumers (PC): these are the people who buy the products in the
marketplace, and they include end-users and family members, and professional
service providers.
Resource providers (RP): they are most critical for transfers of technologies
lacking sufficient market incentives for the private sector to fund independently
particular orphan products. They include government agencies, private insurance
companies, and technology transfer intermediaries
The manufacturers are the critical link in the technology transfer process as they
are the only stakeholder positioned to transform a technology into a product. They
are however totally reliant on the other stakeholders to comprise the marketplace.
5.6 Initiatives in USA
5.6.1 Legislation and Government Attitudes towards
Technology Transfer
The last twenty years has seen a rise in emphasis on technology transfer. Since
1980 there have been at least seven pieces of legislation that have directly
impacted on the role of, and provision for, technology transfer.
Crucial to this was the Bayh-Dole Act 1980, which was concerned with the
ownership of rights to innovations produced by universities, and other federal
organisations. As a direct result of this legislation, universities were able to retain
title of their innovations, thus patenting their designs and then to collaborate with
the private sector for commercial gain. The legislation led to an expansion of
university technology transfer and an increased private sector involvement in
university funding. It also encouraged innovation among small businesses by
giving them first priority in patenting university technology. Designed to add a
creative cutting edge to the USA economy, the Bayh-Dole act became the catalyst
for a period of wholesale change in technology transfer.
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The act has had some profound effects on universities and their engagement with
technology. In 1980, there were approximately 25 universities involved in
technology transfer programmes, yet by 1992, there were 200. In the ten years
between 1974 and 1984, 84 universities received 2944 patents, yet in the year
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1992 alone, 139 universities received 1557 .
Although passed in the same year, the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation
Act 1980 was initially relatively unsuccessful. This act was seen by many as
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'congressional cheerleading' : promoting the principles of technology transfer and
raising awareness, without being too specific on how this should be done. It
encouraged federal laboratories to fund technology transfers, and establish Offices
of Research and Technology Applications (ORTAs), which were intended to
concentrate laboratory research towards developments for the private sector.
However, this proved hard to predict, and after seven years, the Government had
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only entered into approximately thirty four technology transfer agreements .
In 1986, the act was amended with the Federal Technology Transfer Act, creating
the term CRADA (Co-operative Research And Development Agreement).
CRADA for the first time gave the federal laboratories the freedom to enter into
research agreements with the private sector, universities and state governments,
therefore giving them greater freedom to conduct their own commercial ventures.
Grants could be issued by the Government, encouraging laboratories to conduct
particular pieces of research. The 'collaborator' (the private organisation involved
with the Government) was now allowed access to some of the royalties of the
innovation, which gave them more of an incentive than before to commit money to
join research ventures. To benefit the individual workers at the laboratories whose
work was subject to these patents, individual financial and congressional awards
were introduced, and these are now presented to workers whose designs further
the development of the industry, and the USA economy as a whole.
5.6.2 Current Trends in Technology Transfer
As a result of the Bayh-Dole and Stevenson-Wydler acts, and subsequent
amendment-based legislation, technology transfer in the USA is dominated by
government organisations, and in particular the Federal Laboratories. It is seen
very much as the government's role to implement mechanisms which kick-start the
process, and then for the private sector to take the initiative by creating the right
market conditions for technology transfer to take place. The laboratories aim to
work alongside the private sector, promoting the increased access to innovations
and new technologies and encouraging cross-market co-operation.
The following is a list produced by the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) for
Technology Transfer outlining the main categories of organisations behind the
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USA's many success stories in this area :
Agriculture
Commerce
Defense
Energy
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Health and Human Services (HHS)
Interior
Justice
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Transportation
The principles of technology transfer are now widely acknowledged in the USA,
and subsequently, many of the areas in the above list will have some involvement
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or dialogue with assistive technology, as the emphasis is shifted more towards
openness of public information and technology breakthroughs, adaptability and
efficiency.
There are, however, a number of core areas in which the majority of information
exchange takes place for assistive technology-based technology transfer. The FLC
is proud of the record of its Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). There are 172 VA
Medical Centres and nine of these contain Department of Veterans Affairs
Rehabilitation R&D Centers of Excellence. These nine institutions have been
responsible for some of the best examples of technology transfer in assistive
technology in the past few years. The institutes are funded on the basis of a 5-year
programme proposed by the institutes
At their Palo Alto VA Rehabilitation R&D Center of Excellence on Mobility, the VA
research has often been done on a combined basis with the NASA Ames Center.
This resulted in the development of new technology now used to enable victims of
strokes to learn to walk again, using a treadmill and an 'inflatable skirt' originally
developed to facilitate exercise in different levels of gravity. This is controlled by a
computer, which can asses the patients weight, and the air pressure of the skirt,
and is therefore much more flexible and comfortable than the harnesses and
under-water equipment previously used.
Again with the help of NASA, and also Case Western Reserve University and
MetroHealth Medical Center, the Cleveland VA Excellence Center has developed
technology allowing paraplegic patients to use their hands, and even walk again.
Known as 'Freehand' the device operates in the same way as a pacemaker, acting
on the stimulatory signals sent from the brain, and can be powered from a unit on
the back of a wheelchair or from an external signal. Over a hundred people have
already used the technology, and many have returned to schools and workplaces
as a result.
The Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories are often at the forefront
of collaboration, and are currently involved in a project which includes a Russian
nuclear laboratory (Chalyabinsk) and a prosthetics firm called the Ohio Willow
Wood Company. The two laboratories will develop a new form of artificial knee,
with the prosthetics company aiming to cover it up with an artificial skin. It is then
thought the idea will be extended, with the manufacture of separate sockets which
can adjust to the swelling around the amputated leg, and there is also the
possibility of a micro-processor which can control the knee, making it more
realistic still.
The FLC is very keen to see federal laboratories' research transferred and utilised,
offering the Department of Energy a $1.4 million CRADA for the artificial knee
project. Through its website and 'newslink' magazine, it promotes technologies
currently available for transfer, actively encouraging patent and franchise bids, and
developing links between their laboratories and the private sector.
In the Department of Commerce, the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) has been instrumental in a number of recent developments. It
have recently been seeking a company willing to manufacture its new software,
which converts electronic books (e-books) into Braille. The software represents a
radical cut in the cost of materials, by using a much simpler model than previously
available, and will be able to considerably undercut the current market. Such
ventures are constantly promoted by the FLC through the Internet, making them
accessible and naturally very attractive to the private sector.
In recent years the USA government has been increasing the mechanisms that
promote and encourage technology transfer, to the point that there are now within
many government departments, separate departments exclusively for the research
of technology transfer. In September 1997, Dan Brand, chairman of the FLC stated
that there were over 700 R&D federal laboratories, from 17 different federal
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agencies and departments . Research in this area has also increased in recent
years amongst the state university institutions of the USA.
In the assistive technology sector, the main one of these is probably the
Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology Transfer (T2RERC),
based at the Center for Assistive Technology, University of Buffalo. Set up in the
aftermath of the Bayh-Dole act, the centre has a long history of developing ideas
for assistive technology products, and is now virtually a consortium in its own right,
working alongside the Independent Living Center of Western New York, and the
Western New York Technology Development Center Inc. Together, the
organisations offer an "overall cross-functional approach comprised of
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researchers, marketers and consumers” .
The centre was also responsible for establishing AZtech, a non-profit corporation
which licenses prototypes for company manufacture, and is run entirely by (and
for) disabled staff.
AZtech now works closely with the T2RERC, providing "focus groups, interviews,
surveys, literature searches, industry profiles and trends, technology transfer,
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product commercialisation and business consulting" .
An important point to note is that the same government agencies that are
responsible for carrying out or funding most of the AT research also fund most of
the AT purchases. This has the effect that AT development and manufacturing
companies take note of what the agencies say and the research they have carried
out. The result is the technology transfer from research establishment to
manufacturer has been relatively successful, and helped create a market pull for
the products.
Buffalo seems to be the market leader in assistive technology and technology
transfer. It offers a helpful website which acts as a forum for the exchange of
ideas and the general promotion of technology transfer. However, like many of the
university websites, it is very hard to find out from Buffalo many specific examples
of what they have achieved since the conception of the centre in the early 1980's.
Indeed, there is a marked difference between the accessibility to information of the
federal laboratories and that of the universities. Many of the private and non-profit
corporations were very open on their websites, offering particular prototypes for
manufacture, and explaining clearly the work that they had been involved in. The
university sites, on the other hand, were particularly vague, with seemingly no clear
reason for this. Perhaps university websites are geared more towards their
recruitment aims and servicing general queries, rather than being designed to
serve such intricate queries. The universities may eventually fragment their sites
so that individual departments are allowed more freedom and space to develop
more specific topic areas, with links between them.
This is one of the few unimpressive aspects of the American infrastructure, and
more accessible websites may be needed in the future, as the Internet begins to
completely dominate information exchange and co-operation processes in the near
future. At present, we have evidence that the organisations and structures needed
to produce a vibrant and creative technology transfer emphasis are in place, and
now all that needs to follow is this accessibility.
Through the FLC, though, there is evidence of the Buffalo centre's important work.
The centre has recently been involved in a project developing technology for
wheeled-mobility, a joint venture between Buffalo and the Mid-Atlantic region FLC,
which represents the first of six joint projects over the period 1999-2000. The
current Buffalo T2RERC is the result of a pooling of resources, with the
Government seemingly in favour of concentrating all efforts in one sector of the
economy at one particular institution.
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5.6.3 Other Technology Transfer Mechanisms in the USA
Just as in the public sector, the USA‟s business community has come to recognise
the speed of growth in technology transfer, and many non-profit corporations have
been set up specifically to act as agencies, communicating between the public and
private sector. Groups such as Aztech, as already mentioned, have raised
awareness about technology transfer, and in doing so, have attracted funding to
the laboratories, and play a key role in identifying the needs of companies.
There are now scores of independent groups all operating with the same aim: to
promote technology transfer either on a general basis, or on behalf of specific
sectors of the economy. Significant groups include the Technology Transfer
Society (T2S), the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC), the Baylor
College of Medicine Technologies (BCMT. Inc.) and Appropriate Technology
Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA). Overall though, technology transfer initiatives
are still predominantly public sector affairs, although there are certainly now the
mechanisms in place to expand further the role now played by the independent
organisations, thereby reducing Government intervention.
5.6.4 Information Exchange
Dissemination of information and overall co-operation are seen as being effective
ways of keeping the USA ahead of the game, and the growing importance of
technology transfer to industry reflects the greater freedom enjoyed by business,
federal laboratories and academia in the ways in which they are allowed to
operate.
Indicative of this are the many conferences which now take place, during which
representatives from Universities, businesses, researchers, Government
organisations and key interest groups can discuss and often begin to implement
new technology.
The Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America
(RESNA) holds an annual conference which creates an excellent opportunity for
organisations to liase with each other, and also receive expert training in a number
of key areas of assistive technology. The 2000 Conference, held in Orlando from
th nd
June 29 to July 2 , marks the biggest event staged in rehabilitation engineering,
with “40 peer-reviewed concurrent sessions, over 160 scientific papers and
interactive poster sessions, more than 80 exhibitors, computer demonstrations,
and more. And in the 21 full and half-day pre-conference instructional courses and
the annual research symposium the RESNA Conference has something for
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everyone” . There are lists of up-coming and previous conferences like the
RESNA one, included in this document.
5.6.5 Technology Transfer mechanisms in the USA
The technology transfer mechanisms used in the USA are shown and explained in
detail in annex 8. The mechanisms described are directed partly on the law on
technology transfer in the USA and the governmental Federal laboratories as they
work in the USA. Examples are:
Congresses and conferences for information dissemination
co-operative R&D; funding R&D programmes and projects
licensing patents and technical know-how
contracts: cost-shared, subcontracts
agreements: grant and co-operation, CRADA
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5.7 Initiatives in Europe
5.7.1 Introduction
The term “Technology Transfer” is one that is widely used in the USA, but tends to
be more selectively used in Europe. Confusions over terminology may exist: there
are examples of projects in Europe which the Americans might define as
„technology transfer‟, but which in Europe are known simply as “R&D”, “Innovation”
or “Diffusion of Information”. As such, there does not appear to be one big
„movement‟ concerned with furthering development through technology transfer,
although that does not mean to say that no such ventures exist. Overall the
pattern in Europe seems scattered, with technology transfer more confined to
private companies when compared to the USA, as the universities and
government laboratories seemingly paying the subject less attention.
Accessibility is also a problem. Conducting our research on the USA, it was
evident that there was a network in place, with links between Internet sites
enabling a fast access to relevant and important information. In Europe, however,
websites were not of the same standard (with the exception of the CORDIS site),
and the lack of links between them reflected the apparent lack of cross-industry
dialogue. Of course, conducting our research mainly in English means that
certain countries will be more likely to provide the relevant information than others,
dependent on the extent to which they translate their material. However,
considering that English is the dominant language of business, its neglect is a
costly oversight as soon as it prevents an individual from exploiting a technology or
prevents any successful information exchange.
5.7.2 European Union RTD Frameworks
Like the USA, a large proportion of technology transfer activity involves
government encouragement. However, the European Commission, acting on
behalf of the European Parliament, seems to favour a more „hands on‟ approach,
regulating the output through calls for, and assessment of proposals, through
research and technological development (RTD) frameworks as opposed to the
USA‟s method of setting up the incentives and infrastructure and then leaving the
individual companies and state bodies to organise themselves.
In assistive technology, the Technology Initiative for Disabled and Elderly People
(TIDE) scheme has for a number of years been offering companies incentive
grants to encourage them to collaborate. Under this umbrella, TIDE has part-
funded a range of research projects for assistive technology, and is seen as being
an important tool for assistive technology. Much of its work will be included in the
th
ongoing 5 Framework (1998-2002). The AAATE (Association for the
Advancement of Assistive Technology) recognises the work of TIDE, commenting
that “the field of assistive technology has been established and developed in a way
105
that would not have happened otherwise” .
TIDE has been responsible for such a huge list of projects that it is impossible to
go into detail on all of them. Therefore, outlined over the next few paragraphs are
a number of the success stories:
The Future Alarm and awareness Services for the Disabled and Elderly (FASDE)
project developed a wristwatch for hearing-impaired and deaf-blind people that
gives off a warning signal in case of a fire, and can also be used to tell the user
when someone has rung the doorbell or if a baby is crying. The product is now on
sale in Sweden, having been manufactured by AB Transistor, one of the partners
involved in the project.
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Audio description of television for visually impaired and older viewers (AUDETEL)
is a system through which visually-impaired people can hear commentary
alongside their favourite TV shows, allowing them better understanding of the
things that they cannot see on the screen. The commentary adds aspects such as
movement, body language, facial expressions, appearances and locations to the
soundtrack of a programme, placing them in between the mainstream sound. This
was piloted using 140 prototype decoders, providing households with 6 hours of
commentary per week for 4 months. The system has now been recognised by the
UK Government, which plans to gradually add to the AUDETEL output, taking
advantage of the new possibilities under digital broadcasting.
Transport Using Rehabilitation Technologies Leads to Economic efficiency
(TURTLE) started out as a project designed to address the issue of public
transport provision for the elderly and disabled. The first part of the project,
NEWT, concluded that the lack of information, and accessibility to this information
was denying many people the right to use public transport. Developing this further,
TURTLE utilised technology already used for teletext transmissions, and adapted
this including converters for Braille users and text enlargement for the partially
sighted. Buses in Newcastle, UK were fitted with tracking devices so that disabled
people can now access the information about the times of the buses either through
their own TV, or through information points placed in the street. The system is still
in operation and is used by the public as a whole.
The FOCUS project sought to bring together various assistive technologies used
by the mobility-impaired. The integrated system allows the user to power and
move the wheelchair, as well as incorporating previously cumbersome electronic
arm equipment into the wheelchair design. These devices allow users to “sip and
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puff” , and control home devices through voice activation. The interface is
known as M3S (Multiple Master, Multiple Slave), and programs are currently
available to download from the Internet, but it will not be long before the full range
of M3S are available to buy, with some already on sale.
These are just a short selection of TIDE projects. Overall, and including the pilot
phase of the TIDE scheme, up to and including 1998, there have been 129
successful proposals, taken from a total of 1449. This represents a significant
over subscription, in both the number of proposals and in financial terms.
The are problems with TIDE, though. FORTUNE, the forum of user-organisations
training for usability and networking in Europe cites as one of the problems the fact
that many user-groups are voluntary, and often not organised to deal with the type
of work involved in European R&D. Therefore, their valuable knowledge is unable
to be transferred. To try to rectify this, FORTUNE provides web-based databases
and information resources to user-groups, and explains in detail the processes
involved. Although this is an important step forward, it is difficult to predict how
long it will take for FORTUNE to achieve its goal, or indeed how easily this can be
measured.
Overall, technology transfer via the RTD programmes in Europe shows an
encouraging slant towards the industrial sector:
“60% of the partners in the 245 consortia which submitted proposals under the
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third call are companies, and 43% are SMEs. 86% of consortia include an SME”
The use of innovation stimulation instruments, such as funding of R&D
programmes and projects, has an influence on the three main influencing factors
of technology transfer that are identified in the CORE model (see 5.5.1) Funding
can be considered to be of essential importance for assistive technology
companies to perform more specific R&D. The main conclusions of the CORE
project were:
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The factor knowledge infrastructure is of crucial importance for the process of
technology transfer. Without any exchange of information on whatever level
there will exist no technology transfer.
Funding is considered to be essential for most assistive technology companies
to conduct R&D in an innovative way, and to set up an own knowledge
infrastructure.
For most assistive technology companies the information infrastructure is
limited to their own personal contacts; they receive hardly information about
innovation activities on (inter)national or regional levels.
Assistive technology actors are not well aware of stimulation initiatives directed
to technology transfer and innovation.
Although participating in the EU-TIDE programme, most assistive technology
companies are not elsewhere active in other (inter)national innovation
stimulation programmes.
Participation in EU or national R&D programmes increases the information
network of an assistive technology company.
5.7.3 Other European Initiatives
The main problem for technology transfer for companies seems to be not so much
the companies‟ involvement, although not enough companies are involved, but the
nature of their involvement in technology transfer. The EC initiatives seem to act
as a good incentive for companies, but there seems to be very little collaboration
away from these highly regulated and formal processes. The universities, for
instance, hold the key to so many innovations, but for whatever reason are very
reluctant to share this. Legislation concerning the rights to intellectual property is
rare, and perhaps the universities need an incentive in order to encourage co-
operation.
A number of universities are concerned with technology transfer. Cranfield
University, in Bedfordshire, UK is a good example of an institution which mixes
education and business research. It is committed to highlighting important areas
for development, liaison with business, providing contract consultation identifying
target markets and innovation opportunities. On campus there is also an
extensive business park, that mixes huge multinationals such as Nissan and Rolls
Royce with local companies from the Cranfield area.
The links between industry and education are not particularly well observed or
formal (of course with exceptions), although networking amongst universities is
more common. The European Inter-University Association on Science, Society
and Technology (ESST) is “committed to the development of a common, high
quality theoretical and policy-orientated European research and teaching network,
which will draw on the best research traditions of its member universities in order
to develop new perspectives in the context of an innovative European Laboratory
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without Walls”.
The ESST is dedicated to furthering European society through increased
technology, and also „bridging the gaps‟ between the scientists in academia and
the scientists in the private sector, and also between them and society as a whole.
It involves the Universities of Aalborg, Athens, Bilbao, Brussels, Lausanne, Lisbon,
London, Louvain, Maastricht, Madrid, Namur, Oslo, Roskilde, Strasbourg and
Tampere. Members of staff at UPM (University Polytechnic Madrid) are allowed to
maintain employment in the private sector, alongside their related-teaching, which
is a good example of individuals who are promoting technology transfer.
In the UK, AURIL is a network created to develop mutually beneficial partnerships
with each other, the private sector and other public and voluntary organisations,
based around the principles of technology transfer. Their website lists nineteen
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institutions, including many of Britain‟s top Universities such as Oxford,
Cambridge, London and Edinburgh.
One of the best ways to access information concerning technology transfer
initiatives is to look at conference reports and agendas, as many conferences have
very accessible web sites.
In July 1998, AMETMAS-NoE organised a conference in Moscow under the
heading “International Technology Transfer in Russian Federation: Challenges and
Opportunities”. AMETMAS-NoE is an EC-supported network based at Moscow
state University of Technology.
The majority of our findings related to projects that in some way involved the
European Commission, or inter-European alliances, but there are a relatively small
number of independent organisations promoting technology transfer, and
effectively becoming a mechanism to it.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research is one of
Germany‟s leading technology transfer agencies, assisting decision-making in the
public and private sectors. Raising most of its 18 million DM annual budget
through contract research, it employs 130 staff, of which 75 are scientists, as well
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as being involved with other organisations from all around the world.
There are a number of user group organisations that strive to promote equal
opportunities for their members. In doing this, The TOUCAN project hopes that
many of its members will be allowed access to employment which will lead to them
being able to work alongside Government organisations. Based in the West
Midlands, UK, the Sense Project (run by TOUCAN) is aimed directly at sensory-
impaired people. Successful employees could then advise the companies or
Government bodies as to the specific needs of sensory-impaired people.
FAST, the Foundation for the Advancement of Assistive Technology is based in
Oxford, UK and is a national charity benefiting from department of Health funding.
FAST aims to “facilitate the advancement of assistive technology by liasing
between research and development institutions, manufacturers, service providers
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and end-users.”
5.7.4 National Technology Transfer Initiatives
Other technology transfer initiatives take place on a national basis, mostly
organised by the national or regional government. Though a coherent policy on a
national level is very hard to find, especially not in the AT field.
As examples of national initiatives, short descriptions of recent and/or ongoing
technology transfer arrangements and –instruments are given of The Netherlands,
Belgium and Sweden. In appendix 8.3 a list of all arrangements can be found of
The Netherlands and Belgium.
R&D stimulation
111
In Belgium a Flemish government institution, IWT (Institute for the Promotion of
Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders) supports and stimulates
industrial research and technology transfer in the Flemish industry. All companies
established in the Flemish region, and especially SME‟s, can request IWT
assistance in their projects and have IWT services at their disposal. A
professional, scientific staff evaluates each project. Within 75 days after the
proposal (called dossier) has been submitted, a decision is made and financial
support offered. IWT distinguishes between two types of research projects :
dossiers pertaining to industrial basic research, which are allocated a subsidy
of 50 %
dossiers pertaining to the development of prototypes, which are allocated
advance payments which equal a subsidy of 25 %
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SME‟s, or projects of exceptional importance to Europe, can each receive an
extra 10 %.
IWT is more specifically oriented towards SME‟s by offering simplified and
shortened projects :
to so-called SME-feasibility studies, limited to a period of nine months and to a
maximum budget of 1 million BEF; aimed at research on the technical
feasibility of an idea or a development, and able to be 60 % subsidised.
to so-called SME-innovation projects, with a maximum duration of 18 months
and a maximum research budget of 15 million BEF, able to be 35 %
subsidised; intended for the development of new products, production
processes or services.
In the Netherlands R&D is stimulated by the Government. Especially the Ministries
112 113
of Economic Affairs , of Education, Culture and Science , and of Health,
114
Welfare and Sport . Together they finance the budgets of The Netherlands
115
Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and of The Netherlands
116
Organisation for Health Care Research (ZON) . These reserach organisations
take care of amongst others R&D projects in the field of health care, rehabilitation
and telecommunications. Furthermore the Ministry of Economic Affairs also funds
R&D programmes directed on innovation (IOP) and technology and society (T&S).
Another funding is provided for innovation feasibility projects for SME. These
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programmes are coordinated by Senter .
The Swedish Handicap Institute co-ordinates the IT programme for disabled and
118
elderly (1998-2002) , initiated by the Swedish Government. The aim of the IT
programme is to provide the basis for a more concerted effort within the area of IT
for disabled and elderly people. The overall objective of the programme is to
ensure that disabled and elderly people benefit more from and have greater
access to IT. This objective can be achieved through improving products and
services, increasing knowledge and competence among users, as well as staff
working in the health service, schools and workplaces, and effective legislation and
standardisation.
As the end users are the main target group of this IT programme they should have
a large involving role in the implementation of measures, projects and procedures
of the programme.
Co-operation and services
In Belgium companies can call upon IWT services for guidance in the innovation
process, and information about international actions and partner search.
IWT Services provided for SME‟s:
Technology transfer : Valorisation of research results, done by the company
itself as well as through technology transfer, constitute an important task of
IWT. The choice between developing something yourself or actually buying
technologies is a dilemma. IWT offers companies professional help in making
the right choice.
Partner search : Due to frequent foreign contacts and due to participation in
technology transfer networks, IWT has at its disposal much valued information
needed to identify possible partners inside as well as outside Europe.
Guidance with international subsidies : IWT encourages companies in
Flanders to participate in research programmes of the European Commission
and in research projects within the framework of Eureka or Cost. IWT provides
SME‟s with timely information regarding upcoming activities and guides
companies with the formulation and preparation of their proposals.
Co-ordination of technological assistance : IWT co-ordinates the activities of
all authorities in Flanders involved in technology assistance.
In The Netherlands a lot of national arrangements for stimulating technology
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transfer with several means are being organised and co-ordinated by Senter ,
which is an agency of the ministry of Economic Affairs. Senter is responsible for
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executing arrangements concerning subsidies, credits and tax, and executing
programmes in the field of technology, energy, environment, export and
international collaboration in order to enhance the position of the Dutch business
and knowledge institutes.
Arrangements for co-operation and offered services co-ordinated by Senter are:
EG Liaison: a service for Dutch comapnies and institutes which provides
information, advice and training to stimulate innovative co-operation in The
Netherlands and in Europe.
BTS: a co-operation programme which is directed on technological co-
operation between companies and between companies and knowledge
institutes.
Informe: an information service for companies providing information about the
electronic highway, multimedia and electronic commerce.
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NUTEK is Sweden‟s central public authority for industrial policy issues. The
main task is to stimulate industrial development throughout the country. NUTEK
takes initiatives, co-ordinates, and builds networks in order to help Swedish
enterprises take advantage of their inherent energy and vitality. The overall goal is
industrial growth and renewal. NUTEK is a driving and unifying force that creates
opportunities for fruitful contacts between Swedish industrial enterprises.
The Competence Centre Programme is a link in NUTEK‟s efforts to develop
university-industry interaction in Sweden. The aim is to achieve a stronger
industrial impact and enhanced concentration of resources by creating multi-
disciplinary academic research environments in which industrial companies
participate actively and persistently in order to derive long-term benefits.
The NUTEK competence centre programme is intended to run for at least 5 and
up to 10 years. The build-up and development of the centres is based on stepwise
funding and follow-up. The first evaluation of the competence centres has been
performed during 1997 and is intended to give a basis for decisions on the
programme and funding of the centres for the next three-year period.
One of the aims of the competence centre programme is to create attractive and
concentrated academic research environment.
Information and Relay services (IRC) and other EU co-operation
The EU supports services for the SME to stimulate and improve innovation. The
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IRC‟s are services for the SME in all EU countries, and thus also in The
Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. The IRC network is a service for companies,
especially for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Universities and research
institutes may also benefit from its services for transferring results to industry.
Each Centre is staffed by a team of professionals with backgrounds in research,
business and industry. The goal of the IRC network is to enhance European
business competitiveness by strengthening the technology and innovation base of
its SMEs. It fulfils its mission by focusing on its main tasks:
Inward and outward transnational technology transfer
Promotion of transnational dissemination and exploitation of Community and
EUREKA research results
Stimulation of companies‟ capacity to adopt new technologies
Promotion of common transnational innovation initiatives (e.g. in the innovation
financing, start up or intellectual property rights domains together with the IPR
and LIFT Helpdesks)
Provision of information on the Innovation Actions of FP 5 and
Signposting potential participants to EU RTD research consortia to National
Contact Points (NCPs)
The IRC Network has proven to be a well functioning network of technology
brokers across Europe which, as a learning network, is consistently striving to
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improve. Its economic impact is reflected by the growing numbers of transnational
technology transfer cases.
The IRC Netherlands is exectued by Senter. In Belgium there are three IRC‟s for
the regions Flanders (Vlaams Innovatie Adviescentrum), Wallonie (Centre Relais
Innovation de Wallonie, Ministere de la Region Wallonne-DGTRE) and Brussels
(Brussels Innovation Relay Centre – Technopol Brussel-Bruxelles (a.s.b.l.). In
Sweden there also three IRC‟s for the regions Western and Southern Sweden
(Swedish Institute of Production Engineering Research), Central Sweden (The
Industrial and EG Liaison Office) and Nothern Sweden (Uminova Centre).
The EUREKA programme stimulates market directed co-operation between EU
companies and R&D institutes in the field of high-quality technology for R&D and
feasibility projects. When R&D projects involving partners form several EU-
countries are approved on EU-level, each partner requests in his own country
funding for the project. For example, in The Netherlands, Senter co-ordinates the
funding via the BIT programme, and in Belgium IWT takes care of that.
Starters arrangements for SME
In The Netherlands special finacial arrangements are applied for SME to get
started-up. Several types of arrangements are involved and finaced by the
Ministry of economic Affairs. A subsidy arrangement for technology branches
(SBT) is set up to enlatrge the branche specific knowledge of SME by information
porvision, advice and education in order to increase the absorptive capacity of
SME. Another arrangement provides technical development credits (TOK) to
companies for executing technical risky projects and taking away some of the
financial pressure for the companies with max. 40% of the project costs. Pay-back
of the credit depends on the success or failure of the development. KREDO is a
credit arrangement for companies working on a electronic service development.
The arrangement has the same conditions as the TOK-credit arrangement.
Networking
In Belgium IWT offers as one of the services Partner Search. In this way networks
can be created on a small or larger scale. Due to frequent foreign contacts and
due to participation in technology transfer networks, IWT has at its disposal much
valued information needed to identify possible partners inside as well as outside
Europe. Furthermore IWT also organizes a SME-network where as well
companies as research institutes and universities can get information and advice
concerning innovation problems.
In The Netherlands Senter organizes activities for partner search and European
wide contacts. Direct Links are made with EG-Liaison and IRC Netherlands
which also give information and advice, and help with partner search on
international level.
In Sweden Euro Info Centre NUTEK provides information on EU related issues to
Swedish Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The Euro Info Centre
network is a European Union initiative set up to encourage SMEs to make the
most of the opportunities offered by the European market.
On EU-level the Swedish EU-R&D Council, since its foundation in 1992, promotes
and co-ordinates the Swedish participation in the EU R&D framework
programmes. The Council is the National Contact Point for the Fifth framework
programme and is responsible for the information dissemination in Sweden. The
Council serves the Swedish research community free of charge with advice on all
kinds of questions related to the EU R&D programmes and the application
procedure. Activities performed are advice, partner search, courses, information,
and building networks.
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5.8 Initiatives in Japan
5.8.1 Background to Recent Developments in Japan
In Japan, the phrase “technology transfer” has only recently started to be
extensively used. Japan seems to have the most still to do in the quest to
establish technology transfer mechanisms, being behind Europe, and significantly
behind the USA. Indeed, the country is in the middle of widespread change across
the fields of science, information and research.
During our research, much was made of Japan‟s self-proclaimed position as a
„follower‟ rather than a „leader‟ in new technologies, a position that remained
unchallenged until Japan led the consumer electronics boom of the 1980‟s. The
country suffered extensive damage during World War Two, and cites this as one
of the factors influencing this „catch-up‟ process. Shifts in social attitudes, the
fluctuation of the Japanese Yen and globalisation were also seen as major
stumbling blocks that Japan has struggled to overcome in the past.
This “inferiority complex” coupled with a fall in the levels of private R&D spending
each year for the first time since World War Two (1993 and 1994) , has led the
Japanese Government to question seriously their R&D processes, which have
been up until recently highly structured and bureaucratic. Up until the mid 1990‟s,
the only real developments in Japanese policy were the opening up of access to
Japanese infrastructures from abroad: they allowed foreign engineers, researchers
and academics into their universities, and contributed more funding to international
co-operative projects. However, neither one of these moves were seen to impact
on their own domestic R&D programmes, and they were still accused of not
contributing as much as they should towards international developments.
The rise of the Asian „tiger‟ economies gave Japan further incentive to develop its
own technology transfer mechanisms, in order to compete and co-operate with its
neighbours as well as with the USA and Europe.
5.8.2 Recent Legislation and Change in the Japanese
Science and Technology Sector
In 1995 Japanese policy-makers launched the Basic Law for Science and
Technology. The aim of this was to finally tackle some of the fundamental
problems hindering Japanese innovation, instead of simply reacting to the
concerns and criticisms of the West. It increased the general awareness of the
importance of innovation to the growth of the economy, and aimed to remove
many of the barriers that had previously hindered co-operation between different
state and private sectors, both domestically and elsewhere. The 1996 Science
and Technology Plan (often called simply the „basic plan‟) was the offshoot of this.
In the plan the Government pledged to double the levels of state-funded R&D from
its 1992 level “as soon as possible”, and this should feasibly be achieved within a
decade, effectively committing the equivalent of 100 billion euro over the last five
years of the 1990‟s .
Interestingly, the Government seems to be venturing away from a reliance on
private sector funding, and putting emphasis on public money, which goes against
many of the main principles which have led to such a successful American system.
This appears to be a reaction to the economic slump of the early 1990‟s, and a
feeling that the establishment of a basic framework for science and technology is
too important to be simply left to the fluctuating world of the free market.
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These changes have resulted in a much more flexible science and technology
sector in Japan: no longer do they direct concentrated resources into just a few
areas in order to try to „catch up‟ with the United States. Instead, they are more
self-reliant in other areas, and are much better equipped to support their own
businesses, thus positively impacting their balance of trade. One element of the
basic plan worth mentioning in the context of technology transfer has been the
setting up of a database of unused patents which holds over 200,000 ideas ready
for development. It is targeted mainly at small and medium sized businesses and
run by the Japan Technomart Foundation of MITI. This is a constant source,
available over the Internet.
The new emphasis on R&D in Japan signified the beginning of a fresh approach,
as well as kick-starting a slow and weary domestic economy.
5.8.3 Developments in Japanese Technology Transfer
The renewed importance of science and innovation inevitably raises new and more
complex questions for Japan. In particular, the transfer of technologies and the
dissemination of information from universities into the public or private sectors are
crucial to the efficiency of state organisations and the advancement of the national
economy as a whole. This has proved to be a complicated process in the past.
The Japanese economy, and its public sector in particular, has up until recently
lacked the cutting edge of the USA and Europe, and Japan has seen the effect
that the USA‟s emphasis on technology transfer has had on their economy as a
whole.
Like the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 in the USA, Japan‟s 1998 Technology Transfer
Law aimed to clarify the position of ownership of the intellectual property resultant
from university research institutions. However, unlike the Bayh-Dole Act, the
Japanese law attempts to change an already chaotic system and thus far has
failed to reduce the existing bureaucracy. There are likely to be future
consultations and amendments to the Technology Transfer Law 1998 (as was the
case with „Bayh-Dole‟) although the following outline is an indication of the recent
situations.
5.8.4 The Recent Technology Transfer Climate
The current situation as regards university discoveries and their transfer to the
private sector is a very complicated one.
Japan has 565 universities, of which only 385 offer postgraduate courses and only
274 offer Ph.D. positions. Even within this framework, research is concentrated
amongst a very small number of highly respected institutions. The majority of
universities in Japan, and all of the highly regarded research-based ones are
controlled and funded by Monbusho, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports
and Culture. These universities have never had independent status from
Monbusho, and up until recently Monbusho effectively governed the intellectual
property rights.
Under the previous system, the rights of intellectual property rested with either the
individual inventor, or with the nation of Japan. The question of whether the
invention is a „national invention‟ or owned by the individual developer was decided
using the following method, defined as Monbusho Notification No. 117 of 1978: the
inventor would be required to file a report to the university president, which is then
reviewed by an “Invention Committee” who then advise the president whether or
not they feel the rights to the innovation should become national property, or
remain in the hands of the individual. Generally, about 10% of rights were being
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transferred into national ownership, which specifically involved 45 items in 1995
and 66 items in 1996. (Interestingly, of these 66 items, 13 were transferred into
national ownership by request of the inventors themselves.)
The actual fate of the rights to any particular invention was decided by the
committee on the grounds of how the research that led to the breakthrough was
originally funded, and then how useful to the nation this is likely to prove. The
following table lists the various types of university research funding, which have
remained consistent throughout recent changes:
Table to Illustrate Support under Different Funding Categories for R&D in
Japanese National Universities (1996):
Type of R&D Funding Amount: Approx. % of total
(millions of euro) funding
Standard Research Allowance 825 44
Grants In Aid 575 30
Donations 298 16
Commissioned Research 163 9
Joint Research with Private Sector 30.5 2
Bench Fees for Commissioned 2.8 0.15
Researchers
The categories of Grants-in-Aid, Commissioned Research and Joint Research with
the Private Sector are defined under Notification No.117 of 1978 as being potential
national inventions, which therefore makes up nearly half of all research funding.
This would appear to be a beneficial system as far as the Japanese Government
are concerned: they are able to pick up the rights to the discoveries in areas in
which they have most consciously sought progress, and would ultimately have the
option on any others they feel would benefit the nation. However, the situation is
complicated by the fact that if the inventor feels the discovery does not come under
the banners of „public interest‟ funding, they are not legally required to even submit
a report to the president. Therefore, in many cases it is down to the individual
choosing of the inventor whether or not he transfers the technology at all.
A predictable consequence of this „loophole‟ has been that inventors are often able
to act as consultants to the private sector, and forge links with business as a
result. Often, these technologies were transferred completely informally (and are
unrecorded) and often unused or lost in the private sector because of development
costs and so on. In some cases, the inventions remain unused by both public and
private sectors, and overall it is difficult for the Government to calculate accurately
the productiveness of their university departments, and therefore the efficiency
with which their funds are being spent. Companies view donations to university
research institutes as a reliable and cost-effective method of R&D funding, and
these donations attract tax relief because the agreements between professor and
company are casual, and the donations classified as „charitable‟. However, many
Japanese inventors are now reluctant to enter into too many of these types of
agreements, not wanting to be seen as being corrupt.
The University Invention Committees have been criticised for only meeting once
every year, although many believe this actually to be a good thing: it means more
inventions become commercialised rather then go into public hands. Also,
university professors see it as a relief not to regularly be asked to transfer their
peers‟ discoveries to public ownership, thus reducing the possibility of financial
gain for the inventors and antagonising personal relationships. Many also see as
wrong the way university professors are given similar social status to civil servants,
(because ultimately their creativity may be owned by the state) which could impact
upon where the young Japanese place their ambitious futures. Unfortunately, the
system was inefficient, chaotic and open to abuse, and the Technology Transfer
Act set about trying to change this.
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5.8.5 Changes Made Under the Technology Transfer Act
1998
The Act‟s most basic intention was to establish Technology Licensing Offices
(TLO‟s) similar to those in the USA. These Offices are legally able to patent
university inventions and therefore provide the Universities with independence
from Monbusho for the first time, without them having to worry about receiving
royalty cheques directly from private companies.
Change has been slow, and as of April 1999, only four TLO‟s had been approved
by Monbusho and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MITI). And although the
setting up of the new agencies is most certainly a step in the right direction, it does
not alter much of the previous system. Notably, inventors still retain the ultimate
rights to their inventions under the „loophole‟ system described in the previous
section, and the universities are still required to judge by committee the potential of
transferring intellectual property rights to national ownership.
5.8.6 Problems with the Technology Licensing Offices
As well as failing to eradicate the existing levels of bureaucracy already described
concerning loopholes exploited by university inventors, there are other problems
with the new Technology Licensing Offices. For instance, the initial offices have
introduced policies of charging membership fees to personal and business
members. This raises funds for the offices, but immediately reduces those
companies able to benefit from university technology to only those who are willing
to pay to be part of this network. This impacts hardest on smaller businesses,
where the investment into a technology transfer office forms a larger proportion of
their turnover. Hence, the membership fee system may lead to the bulk of
transfers going to larger companies, with monopoly and stagnant markets as a
result.
With the university inventors still able to directly transfer through casual
arrangements to the private sector, the technology transfer offices are then left
with the less commercially viable technologies. As a result, companies will be put
off paying the membership fees knowing that they can get better products through
the older, more casual methods, avoiding membership fees and probably saving
themselves time as well.
Fundamentally, the Japanese experiment has attempted to emulate the USA
strategy, but thus far fails to provide businesses with a cut in transaction costs and
accessibility to technology and information; and similarly fails to provide
universities with the control of intellectual property and the incentives this provides.
5.8.7 Japanese Technology Transfer in Assistive Technology
In the field of assistive technology, Japan seems to have pre-empted the wider
legislative developments. The 1993 Technical Aids Law has set out to develop
R&D specifically for assistive technology, and defines quite clearly the
responsibilities that Government and the private sector have in this area.
This basically involves two Government departments, whose responsibilities since
the Technical Aids Law are outlined below:
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The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) is responsible for:
1. the subsidy of R&D programmes and the popularisation of assistive
technology,
2. for the compilation and dissemination of information concerning assistive
technology and
3. for the evaluation of the usability of assistive technologies.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is responsible for:
1. subsidy of R&D expense, and
2. the compilation and dissemination of industrial technologies relevant to
assistive technologies.
Local Governments are responsible for the dissemination of information, while
the private sector is responsible for the delivery of high quality equipment to
satisfy individual needs.
Set up in 1989, the Golden Plan aimed to ease the strain on demand for nursing
care in Japan. Combining elements of the Golden Plan and the Technical Aids
Law, the MHW has created a network of information with the intention of furthering
assistive technology. The Practical Health Care Training and Dissemination
Centres are run by Local Government to train care workers, and also function as a
space for the demonstration, research and dissemination of information in
assistive technology, with 51 centres already established.
This initiative was boosted further in 1994 with the passing of the New Golden
Plan, which adds to the network some 10,000 in-home care support centres,
providing demonstrations and promotion for assistive technologies, usually in
nursing homes or in technical aids shops.
Another offshoot of the Golden Plan, also enhanced significantly by the Technical
Aids Law has been the growth of subsidy schemes. The Association for Technical
Aids (ATA) provides support for the R&D of assistive technology, and provides
around 300-million yen each year, normally funding 30 projects. 80% of the
awards go to private companies, although the funds must be used for development
purposes, and not for commercialisation.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development (NEDO) has increased
its assistive technology subsidy programme since the enactment of the Technical
Aids Law. Again, the funds given must be for development and not
commercialisation, and here can form no more than two thirds of the entire
research budget. NEDO‟s emphasis is on small businesses, and stimulating
commercially viable progress within a three-year project timescale. Some of its
recent projects have involved a bathing cart, which guides the person into a bath
using a crane, the combination of electronic infra-red equipment to form a sensory
cane for the blind, and even a device which can simulate physical (limb) functions
during games. NEDO is keen to support practical solutions that without subsidy
would be very high risk and unattractive ventures for businesses.
The Science and Technology Agency (STA) also provide funds, with a general
emphasis on public research. The Special Co-ordination Funds Promoting
Science and Technology from STA (SCFPST) includes projects that concern
assistive technology which currently includes collaboration with Hitachi‟s Advanced
Research Laboratory on digital information processing (single flux quantum
circuits) and also research into the wider use of x-ray technology towards new
medical applications.
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5.9 Conclusions
1. The European Commission framework programmes support a range of
projects operating in different parts of the technology transfer process. The
majority are targeted at technological R&D for SMEs, and the planned result is
a tangible product or service. These projects, in effect, "push" specific new
technology into the assistive technology market. A small proportion of
projects aim to "pull" a broader range of new technology into the market by
developing awareness and practical opportunity for the take-up of assistive
technology among specifiers or care professionals (eg ASTRID which
produced a guide to assistive technology that could be used for people with
dementia). The CORDIS Innovation website provides a focal point for pan-
European technology transfer.
2. The technology transfer mechanism in the USA is clearly presented and
explained in commercial terms. It is easily accessed on the Internet. The
Federal Laboratories have an incentive to transfer technology because they
receive financial reward for licensing arrangements. There are several
"showcase" style initiatives supported by the European Union but they are not
incentivised to take a proactive brokering rôle in the technology transfer
process.
3. The technology transfer mechanism in the USA is overtly led by government
organisations and these organisations are clearly business orientated. There
is a cultural difference between the two economic areas. In the USA doing
business is a way of life, and seen as a normal activity for government
departments too. In Europe government departments have traditionally been
responsible for the administration of the state and providing information and
have not typically made business arrangements, although this is now
beginning to change. "Showcase" activities are typically led by independent
private organisations using European Union funding. These lack the credibility
and clarity of the US counterparts. There may be a general reluctance by
SMEs to pursue offers from such organisations when their pedigree and
business terms are not transparent.
4. European Union funded research and development funding is available to
projects undertaking any combination of the phases that make up the life-cycle
of a project. However, the majority of funded projects cover all the phases
from user needs to commercial exploitation. This might be because proposers
perceive full life-cycle proposals are more likely to be funded. The three year
project duration regime does not suit every project and it is often that
exploitation phase that suffers.
Furthermore, one of the requirements of the RTD projects is an exploitation
plan (Technology Implementation Plan) whatever the phase of the project, a
recent requirement which aims to improve the likelihood of the project resulting
in a marketable product or service. The effect is that each individual project
has to conduct its own technology transfer, with project partners having some
idea of the exploitation potential at the start of the project. In contrast in the
USA a technology transfer department deals with the exploitation of the results
of all the research carried out in that research organisation, and often links
with other organisations. The technology that has been developed is put on
view, with clear invitations to discuss its commercial exploitation. The onus is
on the companies who can see exploitation potential to come forward, rather
than the research organisation, or the development teams having to try and
think of possible applications.
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5. Research and development funding involves three players:
funding and strategy organisation
management and tactics organisation
research and development team
In the USA, funding and strategy is provided by central government. The
management and tactics are provided by federal laboratories and research and
development is typically undertaken by laboratory or university teams. The federal
laboratories are also responsible for the brokering of technology.
In Europe the European Union takes responsibility for funding and strategy as well
as management and tactics. It commits the research and development teams to
include their own exploitation capability. The European Union delegates funding
decisions to independent committees of experts.
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6 Current Assistive Technology and
Developments
The goal of this chapter is to give the reader background information of the AT
market, with examples of current AT products, R&D projects and bottlenecks for
future development of AT products. The products and projects mentioned should
be seen as merely examples, by no means exhaustive.
The information is derived from a selection of studies in the field of assistive
technology, literature on assistive technology and Internet links with descriptions of
products that are already on the market. For the information about the current
th
projects on AT we looked at projects from the 4 R&D framework programme,
TIDE projects and other projects with support from the European Commission. In
addition we have identified organisations that run programmes of conferences and
workshops to help identify the focus of research in the field of AT. The information
of this chapter is derived during the period from May 1999-May 2000.
Developments that took place after this period have not been taken into account.
This chapter is divided in three sections:
I user-technology interaction
II interpersonal communication
III supporting users in everyday life
Each section describes a variety of assistive technologies in that area with
examples of products, current bottlenecks, current developments and conclusions
with regards to future needs for that particular technology.
6.1 Section I: user-technology interaction
6.1.1 Speech products for interfaces
General description122
Speech products for interfaces can be divided into three categories: speech
synthesis, speech recognition and speech dialogue systems. Speech synthesis is
based on text to speech conversions. Speech recognition is the opposite of
speech synthesis. It is based on speech to text conversions. Speech dialogue
systems are systems in which speech synthesis and recognition are used in a
man-machine dialogue.
Recent developments in speech technology have led to significant improvements
in quality and accuracy and a reduction in prices. This is important for people with
disabilities since speech technology can be used for interpersonal communication,
access to information and control of the environment.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of these technologies are
described.
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Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Speech Synthesis MultiVoice (1998-99): lightweight, There is evidence that significantly
rugged, and portable speech better quality of speech synthesis
synthesiser with excellent text-to- should be achievable (Some of the
speech capabilities using DECtalkTM current products already have a better
technology. MultiVoice provides quality). Research is focused on
powerful speech output for persons naturalness, prosody and flexibility (e.g.
with vocal and visual impairments different voices). Other important
research areas are modelling of
My-Voice Portable/Compact (1999): emotions and speech synthesis from
communication aid with speech the meaning of the text.
synthesis. By pressing symbols on the
keyboard, words or sentences are
expressed in speech. Also letter-keys
can be used and can be expressed in
speech. The device has several extra
options: e.g. computer control via infra-
red interface, environmental control
trainable infra-red TV, Video etc.
Speech Speech recognition is difficult because:
Recognition The basic units of speech are hard to
recognise.
Continuous speech adds more
difficulties.
Speaker and environmental differences
are very important.
There is insufficient knowledge about
the human language understanding
process.
Speech Dialogue Speech dialogue systems (1998): Limited vocabulary : current speech
Systems systems in which speech synthesis and dialogue systems are limited to
recognition are used in a man-machine vocabularies of about 100 words, but
dialogue. Demonstrated applications laboratory prototypes exist with
such as bank cash dispensers and vocabularies of over 1000 words.
hands-free voice diallers on public
telephones.
Current developments
Looking at the current developments in Speech Technology we can conclude that
much effort is been put in solving the current bottlenecks in speech technology.
This effort is mainly focused on speech recognition. There are some European
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Projects of the 4 R&D framework that concentrate on speech technology .
These projects use speech technology to improve the quality of life of persons who
at present have difficulties accessing information and communicating. All of these
projects should lead to better quality products intended for disabled and older
persons.
In the project VOICE a new interface for subtitling for hearing impaired persons is
produced. “The speakers get the full control of the visual communication channel.
They must modify their style of presentation, meeting the needs of persons with
hearing impairment. They have to speak a little slower and pause between
phrases, thus controlling the subtitles' length on the screen. When they do, the
subtitling is up to 95% accurate and the audience will have the time to read the
subtitles”.
Voice telephony is also being investigated. “Current VTT systems require 'training'
in recognising the individual user's voice, accent and pronunciation before they can
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produce an accurate text. Over the telephone line the accuracy is reduced by
noise and bandwidth limits. While some software will recognise virtually anyone's
voice, the vocabulary is limited to around 30 words. As an interim step, VTT
systems are being developed that could recognise a vocabulary of up to a
thousand words from a limited number of people. In this case, the deaf person's
immediate family could communicate fairly effectively. The people involved would
need a few hours training”.
From a conference on speech technology (ESCA Tutorial and Research
Workshop on modelling pronunciation variation for automatic speech recognition,
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May 1998 ): it can be seen that much effort has been put on increasing the
knowledge about the human language understanding process. In a paper on
pronunciation variants in the RWTH large vocabulary speech recogniser, the
application of pronunciation variants are described for our large vocabulary
continuous speech recogniser. The conclusion is: “For the English corpora a clear
improvement in recognition accuracy can be observed, while for the German
corpus the results remain almost the same”. Here also improvements can be
seen, but not all problems are solved. More research on this topic is thus required.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the projects are working on the aspects of „limited
vocabulary‟, „training‟ and „continuous speech‟. There remain difficulties with these
items, but improvements can be noticed. More work on these topics is thus
required.
6.1.2 Smart Cards
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General description
A smart card is like a floppy. It contains a chip on which information can be stored,
changed and removed. Several options are possible at the moment. Smart cards
are being used as a shopping card, bank card, personnel cards (for buying lunch
at work), and a personal card with medical information about the person carrying it.
In the following table current products and bottlenecks of this category are
described.
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Technology Current Current Bottlenecks
Products/Applications
Integrated Self-service terminals: self- Current possibilities to store information on a card are
chip and service terminals are being with a magnetic stripe card and with a smart card. With a
reader used by the general public magnetic stripe card there is very limited spare capacity
technology for an increasing range of for storing extra information about the personal needs of
applications. Bank cash the user, e.g. concerning the user interface. A smart card
dispensers and ticket has fewer restrictions on storage capacity; agreement on
selling machines for public international standard for the coding of this information is
transport now offer a necessary.
bewildering number of
choices to the user. Another bottleneck is the privacy aspect. Many
organisations do not introduce the smart card on a large
scale, because of privacy aspects. People do not want all
kind of information about them to be put on a card that
many people can read.
A bottleneck for people with disabilities is that the
terminal often incorporates a sophisticated interface. To
help these users it may be possible to modify the terminal
interface to meet the user‟s needs (e.g. large characters
on the screen, longer waiting time to make choices, etc.).
Current developments
The European standards organisation CEN has a working group on Identification
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Card systems - Man-Machine Interface” . Four standards have been produced,
and the group is now working on two new items.
The four standards that have been developed are:
General Design Principles (EN 1332-1). This standard specifies the design
principles for the user interface to be incorporated into the design of card operated
equipment. It also provides recommendations for the operational procedures to be
followed when users interact with a card operated device The standard covers
aspects such as user instruction, single handed operation, display of charges, and
receipts.
Card Orientation (EN 1332-2). This standard specifies a notch to help blind people
use the correct orientation for card insertion. This standard applies to machine-
readable cards including telephone cards.
Keypads (EN 1332-3). This standard specifies the arrangement, the number and
location of numeric and command keys on card operated devices. It specifies that
a numeric keypad must be laid out as on a telephone (and not as on a calculator)
with a tactile identifier on the number 5. It also specifies the colour and
arrangement for command keys such as “enter”, “cancel” and “clear”.
Coding of User Requirements (EN 1332-4). This standard defines how details of a
user‟s preferred interface can be stored on the card. These preferences could
include large characters on the screen, speech prompts, more time to use the
terminal, or amplification of sound output.
The CEN working group is working on two other items: provisions for physical
accessibility to card reading terminals and tactual differentiation of cards.
Conclusion
It can be concluded from the work of the CEN working group that for most
bottlenecks mentioned above standards have been produced that address these
bottlenecks. The CEN group is still working on the improvement of the accessibility
and usability of smart cards and is working on two other items. Privacy remains a
problem.
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6.1.3 Virtual Reality
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General description
The goal of a Virtual Reality (VR) system is to place the user in a synthetically
generated three-dimensional environment, that (s)he can directly manipulate.
Ideally, users cease to think of themselves as interacting with a computer; they
think of themselves as interacting with the environment it has created. Special
input and output devices allow a user to interact with a virtual environment. These
capture the user‟s motion and gestures and produce the sensory feedback from
the synthetic environment to the user‟s vision ,hearing and touch.
In coming together VR and telecommunications technology has much to offer
people with special needs. It has many benefits for visual impaired, hearing
impaired, motor impaired and intellectual impaired persons.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Computer the first commercially viable As intriguing as VR is, the enabling technology is
technology, applications of VR are in still crude. Major technological hurdles exist in the
mathematics entertainment. Nevertheless, area of tracking a person‟s motion and position in
modelling many projects are under way for a non-intrusive way, in displaying high definition
developing experimental stereo colour images of the scene covering the
applications in many different user‟s peripheral vision and, in the area of image
fields (e.g. business, scientific, generation, speed for a smooth and realistic
medical, military, rehabilitation). animation of the scene. Tactile output and the
construction of physical images, to support the
visual images in virtual environments, require
further development to produce realistic
sensations.
Current developments
The European Commission has made an investment in VR-based projects, and
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also in the 5 Framework Programme this issue is addressed . Looking at the
projects supported by the European Commission it is very surprising that we find
almost no European projects for disabled and elderly on this topic. VR-related
projects we find within the ACTS (Advanced Communication Technology and
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Services) Programme , but these are related to main stream technology. The
usability of VR for the disabled and elderly is not discussed.
Looking at the conferences on Virtual Reality, a lot of conferences were held on
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this topic over the past two years. The content of these conferences focuses on
the applications for the main stream market. One conference directly focuses on
Virtual reality and disability: European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and
Associated Technologies (ECDVRAT).
The first conference was held in 1996 and the second in 1998. In September 2000
the third international conference will be held in Italy. Some examples of proposed
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applications of VR to assistive technology are (ICDVRAT 2000) :
Application of virtual reality technology to the assessment and training of powered
wheelchair users (Andrew Harrison, Gary Derwent, Anne Enticknap, David Rose
and Elizabeth Attree, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability/University of East London,
UK).
The current study presents quantitative and qualitative data concerning the
development and application of two non-immersive virtual environments (VEs) to
the assessment and training of adult powered wheelchair users with complex
neurological impairments. Aspects of manoeuvrability skills and route-finding were
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addressed. Results indicated that whilst the participants considered the VEs to be
realistic and well represented, and the tasks reflected the skills needed to
manoeuvre a powered wheelchair, completing the manoeuvrability tasks was more
challenging in the VE than in real-life. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Additional data are provided from two patients who commenced a series of training
sessions using the manoeuvrability skills VE.
The effect of interactive virtual environment training on independent safe street
crossing of right CVA patients with unilateral spatial neglect (Yuval Naveh, Noomi
Katz and Patrice (Tamar) Weiss, Hadassah-Hebrew University, Jerusalem,
ISRAEL).
Unilateral spatial neglect is defined as a disorder in which a patient fails to pay
attention to stimuli presented to the contralateral side of the lesion; it is known to
be associated with decreased functional independence. Our objective was to
determine the suitability and feasibility of using a PC-based, non-immersive VR
system for training individuals with unilateral spatial neglect to cross streets in a
safe and vigilant manner. A virtual environment, consisting of a typical city street,
was programmed via Superscape‟sTM 3D-Webmaster, a 3D web-authoring tool.
Twelve subjects, aged 55 to 75 years, participated. Results demonstrated that this
virtual environment was suitable in both its cognitive and motor demands for the
targeted population. With very few exceptions, the control subjects were able to
complete all levels of the program with success. The performance of the patient
subjects was considerably more variable, and they were able to complete fewer
levels, and usually took more time to do so. The results indicate that the virtual
reality training is likely to prove beneficial to people who have difficulty with street
crossing.
Collaborative networked framework for the rehabilitation of children with Down’s
Syndrome (Ana Margarida Almeida and Fernando Ramos, University of Aveiro,
PORTUGAL).
This paper describes a reference architecture to support a multi-user virtual
communication platform that enables rehabilitation and social integration of
Down‟s Syndrome children. The platform, based on an on-line virtual collaborative
environment supported by the World Wide Web, includes collaboration and
interpersonal communication devices and data collection mechanisms to provide
management information for system and effectiveness evaluation. It allows
children with Down‟s Syndrome, geographically spread in schools and homes, to
access a distributed virtual platform able to offer communication and shared
construction processes. This will leverage the exploitation and development of
communication and socialisation abilities, creating conditions to the exploitation of
new rehabilitation patterns.
Conclusion
Concluding it can be stated that Virtual Reality is a big issue in main stream
technology and it is starting to get this status in the field for people with disabilities.
Part of the current work is focused on VR and Disability. According to the
ICDVRAT conferences many projects are researching the benefits and the
bottlenecks of VR for disabled and elderly. The abstracts show that much work is
to be done in this field to find out what VR can do for disabled and elderly people.
Within the projects funded by the EC, there is not so much emphasis on VR and
Disability. People with disabilities can profit a lot from VR and still a lot of research
and development is needed to accomplish the best effectiveness for the disabled
and elderly. The EC can support these projects, in order to use VR as a tool to
improve the quality of life for the elderly and disabled.
6.1.4 Internet
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General description
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The Internet, and especially its best-known application, The World Wide Web, has
become extremely popular over the past few years. The world-wide distribution of
electronic information, previously hindered by incompatible standards and
expensive communication channels, has now taken off at an incredibly fast pace.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Current Bottlenecks
Products/Applications
Information and Internet accessibility. Meet policy and user needs and
Communication ease access at the lowest cost , including the
Technology disabled and the elderly.
Current developments
th
Within the 4 Framework programme, there are several project working on the
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accessibility of the Internet for disabled and elderly. The Aldict project is about
access of Persons with learning disabilities to information and communication
technologies. The project will develop a software program fro personal computers
which converts automatically between three symbol communication systems and
four European languages. An integrated mail module and automatic translation
feature will enable international communication between persons with learning
disabilities through the Internet.
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The WAI project (Web Accessibility Initiative) is a support action whose goal is
to improve accessibility to the Internet for persons with disabilities (whether visual,
hearing, physical or cognitive). It is closely related to the W3C WAI project for
Europe.
The European Commission supports the WAI initiative and it claims that action will
be undertaken for adaptation of the WAI guidelines for public websites. According
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to „eEurope Draft Action Plan 2002‟ this will be realised at the end of 2001.
Also the Cost 219 is group is working on the accessibility of web pages for
136
disabled and elderly. Guidelines for accessible web pages are described in the
cost219bis guidebook “Producing web pages that everyone can access”.
Conclusion
The guidelines for accessible web pages are available on the market. The next
step is to disseminate this information to the designers of webpages and Internet
providers, and make sure that every web page is made according to these
guidelines. Only in this way it can be achieved that all information on the Internet is
available to everyone.
6.1.5 Adapted Interfaces
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General description
The normal “standard” keyboard can often not be used properly by people with
disabilities. The interface between the computer and the user needs to be adapted
so every user can use the equipment. A lot of adapted steering and control
systems are developed for the different user groups.
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In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are
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described .
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Sensor operating sticks for head, chin and mouth Voice and eye control systems
technology, switch operated by breath need to be further developed (see
signal electronic switch operated by touch section on speech recognition
processing and voice-switch operated by speech recognition and virtual reality).
design eye control system:
Eyeware (1998-99): the system allows you to
control your computer with only your eyes.
Wearing virtual reality goggles that contain an
integrated camera, you can direct your gaze
to activate target areas on a computer screen.
Human interface Mini Keyboard (1996): keyboard with small Keyboards with eye control
technology, membrane keys which can be pressed with a systems need to be developed,
multimedia finger, typing stick, mouth stick, etc. so that people who cannot use
control system their hands, their mouth and their
Link (1998-99): smart keyboard that talks. speech can control the computer
TM
Featuring DECtalk high-quality speech with their eyes.
output,
Link is an easy-to-use, lightweight
communication device. It offers keyboard
shortcuts for abbreviations and messages,
flexible readback and keyboard settings, 8
voices, and multiple files for storing 64 pages
of text, which can be downloaded to a
Macintosh or PC computer.
Touch screens
Companion (1998-99): authorising tool for
creating easy to use, interactive computer
applications for people of all ages and
disabilities. Companion‟s universal
accessibility and graphical interface make
learning, communication, and environmental
control easy and intuitive.
Current developments
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Within the 4 Framework Programme the VISIOBOARD project is aimed to
make a gaze control system to provide services and applications to severely-
handicapped citizens. VISIOBOARD will perfect procedures for individual
adaptation and improvement in daily use of the gaze command interface and of
existing applications than can be accessed through it.
Conclusion
Much work is already done in making keyboards accessible for disabled and
elderly people (e.g. acoustic or visual feedback when a key has been pressed,
larger or smaller keys, keys with pictures, Bliss, Braille, touch-screens, usage of
operating sticks etc.).
Eye controll systems are under development and it is important for people who
cannot use their hands, their mouth or their speech that this product will be on the
market soon.
Speech input for operating a computer/keyboard depends on the development of
speech recognition.
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6.1.6 Braille Writers
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General description
Today there is already a great variety of Braille products on the market, such as:
Braille translation software, hardware, printers and embossers, scanning and
reading enhancement systems, videomagnifiers etc.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Fine mechanics, Braille writers, translating software and Integration: visual impaired
mechatronics hardware, printers, embossers etc. people should have full
access to faxes, the Internet
Electronic note takers and mobile communications.
Braille browsers/writers etc.
should be made compatible
with existing technology.
Current developments
141
In the project PRINT a quiet tactile printer will be developed that is capable of
producing Braille, Moon, tactile and visual graphics and plain text. This printer can
be upgraded with a fax modem and software to process tactile faxes.
In the section on mobile telephony the More phone was mentioned and it has
tactile marking, the keys have a low activation force and clear tactile feedback,
feedback to all user actions can be done by speech output or acoustic signals. It
needs to be tested if visually impaired are able to use the More phone for their
mobile communications.
A paper of the AAATE‟99 was directed to the accessibility of the world wide web
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for visually impaired people. This paper describes the most frequent
accessibility problems. These are divided in technical and conceptual problems.
Technical problems are: links formulation; images without the “Alt” comment;
image mapframes with non explicit titles/names; scripts, applets, and animated
events; tables and multicolumn texts. Conceptual problems are: multiple frameset;
site organisation; homepagedesign, sites dedicated to one specific browser or
configuration.
Conclusion
There are some products that give access to mobile phones and faxes for visually
impaired. These products should be tested and evaluated and finally marketed on
a wide scale.
Regarding the Internet it can be concluded that some improvements can be made
by specific browsers and screen readers, but some can only be solved by the
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webdesigners themselves. The WAI formulated recommendations to make the
Internet more accessible. The web designers should be familiarised with these
recommendations. The project group of the paper mentioned above started an
information campaign. Some web designers are positive and want to implement
the WAI recommendations, but others state that it concerns a minority of the
Internet users and it would be too much work to adapt their sites to other browsers.
This shows that there is still much work to do to guarantee a full accessibility of the
Internet for visually impaired.
6.2 Section II: interpersonal communication
6.2.1 Text Telephony
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General description
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Text telephones are mainly used by deaf, deaf-blind, hearing impaired and speech
impaired people, who cannot communicate or who can only communicate with
difficulty on an ordinary telephone. These target groups need totally or partly
practical possibilities for long distance communication by means of a traditional
telephone, since they lack sufficient hearing or speaking abilities. However most of
the people are able to write, which is why text communication in the form of text
telephony is a very applicable method for long distance communication.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
text telephony current text telephones, with Standards: one of the difficulties
integrated fax and in there being universal access
Internetfacilities. throughout the globe to text
NewTel (1997): Dutch product. telephone users is the large
This is a text telephone that has number of line standards which
an integrated fax, modem exist. Even within
communication, answer in recommended standards, such
speech, Internet and email. This as V21, there are differences
text telephone can communicate between the countries let alone
with all Dutch text telephones and the different alphabets in use.
is paid by most of the Dutch social The fledgling V18 standard is
145
securities. likely to be the first step
towards the end of this
complication.
Integration: today there already
exist text telephones with fax
facilities and Internet facilities.
These text telephones are not
available in all European
countries and here also the
problem of compatibility with
other text telephones exist. Also
new technologies like the GSM
(mobile communication) should
be made accessible for people
who use text telephones.
Current developments
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Within the Caption Life project a new text telephone is developed, which
includes the V18 modem. This text telephone is thus compatible with other text
telephones in Europe. This text telephone is still a prototype and has not yet have
fax- or Internetfacilities. No other projects are directed to solve the current
bottlenecks of text telephony. This can be explained by the fact that text
telephones with fax and Internet facilities are more like personal computers with
software that can be used to call to other text telephones. Mobile phones or
bleepers which have an SMS option, are also used to realise text based
communication. The computer with Internet, GSM technology and bleepers have
become alternatives for the text telephone.
This does not mean that the text telephone is not used any more. Especially for
having direct contact with the person you want to speak to, text telephones are the
most effective. Communication via the computer (email) or fax is more like leaving
a message for the person than having a direct conversation. A direct conversation
can only happen when the other person is also sitting behind his/her computer and
sees that the hearing impaired person is contacting him/her. Via chat-programmes
the communication can occur directly. For direct conversations the text telephone
is mostly used (sometimes in combination with a relay service).
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The SMS option of the mobile phone or bleeper mostly used for sending short
messages. When sending a large message, a keyboard is mostly used, because it
takes too much time to do it via the mobile phone or bleeper. Portable text
telephones can be used for mobile text communication, though there has to be a
telephone line available. Future developments might be a text telephone that uses
the GSM network, or a GSM with a keyboard for typing the messages.
Conclusion
The standardisation of text telephones in Europe has begun. More and more new
text telephones include the V18 modem.
There are some alternative communication technologies like Internet or GSM/SMS
that can be used in stead of text telephones. Because there are still a lot people
who use a text telephone, one should think of the compatibility of new text based
technologies with current text telephones (e.g. software programmes for calling to
text telephone users).
6.2.2 Relay Services
General description
The text telephone enables customers who cannot use the phone in the normal
way, because of for instance deafness or a speech impairment, to talk to each
other using a keyboard and display unit. This enables them to talk to other users of
text telephones. A relay service is a real-time system which translates in both
directions between text and voice and voice to text. The operation of the system is
relatively simple, in that originating customers call the relay service, identify
themselves and inform the operator at the relay service of the number they wish to
call. The operator calls this number and when the call is connected, full translation
can take place in either direction via the operator.
In the following able current products and bottlenecks of this category are
described.
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Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Telematics Relay service with operator who uses Slow text input system: one of the
QWERTY (or similar) text input system difficulties of the current relay service is
the low conversion speed from speech
into text.
Voice-Through: many deaf people have
good voices, particularly if their deafness Voice-Through: this possibility should be
occurs in later life, and consequently many made available in every European country.
relay services offer voice-through facilities.
This system saves time and increases the Charging: the charging has to be
sense of "realism" of the call. considered if a relay service is to offer
anything like an equivalent to a normal
telephone conversation carried out in
speech.
Current developments
147
In one of the European Projects named Caption Life , some problems of the
current relay services are being addressed. Caption Life will use the Velotype text
input system for speech-to-text conversion. With this fast text input system the
operator can type with the speed of speech. In this way a real time translation can
be given, which reduces the time for making a call and increases the sense of
„realism‟ of the call.
Furthermore a text telephone is developed which is capable of capturing the fast
text and simultaneous speech and text transmission. This text telephone is
portable and a V18 bis ITU recommendation is used. The Velotype relay service
has voice through and with the new text telephone the hearing impaired person is
able to speak directly to the hearing person and can also interrupt this person. This
also increases the sense of „realism‟ of the call.
In Caption Life the applications of the relay service for the target group are
extended from the usual telephone conversations to “one room” conversations.
The one room application involves personal conversations where the conversation
partners have a face-to-face talk. This allows hearing impaired persons to have
access to and to participate in all speech-based conversations, and offers more
social integration aspects.
Other projects focus on the implementation of speech technology in relay services.
These focus on recognition technology for replacing an operator including text input
equipment in a text telephone relay service. This replacing system has to recognise
speech and has to transform it into text, and vice versa transformation of text into
(synthetic) speech. Though a number of problems occur for developing this ideal
system.
Firstly, the system must be able to handle any type of message or conversation
because for the text telephone relay service you cannot restrict the conversations
on a restricted vocabulary. So, a large vocabulary recogniser is necessary.
Secondly, in a natural conversation many syntactical mistakes occur, elisions etc.
People talk with “spontaneous speech”, and in a continuous format. Thirdly, the
system has to deal with any person, and has to be a user-independent recogniser.
Fourthly, any telephone line can be switched to the speech recognition system.
This means that the system must have a high robustness because telephone
channel characteristics might be very different.
Problems with speech technology are not yet solved for this application, so the
Caption Life concept will remain an important market where speech itself is
unreliable for machine recognition.
Conclusion
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Problems with alternative technologies are not yet solved for this application, so
the Caption Life concept is the best improvement up till now. When the bottlenecks
with e.g. speech technology are solved, implementation in relay services should be
considered.
6.2.3 Videotelephony
148
General description
Videotelephony means transmitting moving images and sounds simultaneously
over the telephone line. When you call with someone via a videophone, you can
hear and see this person. This application is very important for some groups of
people with disabilities, especially hearing impaired people who use sign language.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are
149
described .
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Telematics and Video telephony is a technology, Lack of knowledge amongst caring
compression that is mostly aimed at people organisations and individual disabled people
technology who are hearing impaired, to as to the affordability, and availability, of video
communicate via sign language communication equipment and the potential
with an interpreter or a for services using such equipment.
communication partner. The
current usage is not large
because of the current Lack of knowledge on the part of equipment
bottlenecks. and service providers as to the requirements
of different groups of disabled people and to
the potential markets for both equipment and
services.
Lack of suitable interfaces and software to
allow the use of relevant video communication
by disabled people.
Current developments
149
According to the COST 219bis study on video telephony , the technology is
available at costs that are affordable to service providers and, depending on the
complexity of the technology, to individuals. However video communication has
until now only been implemented in rather a few cases, mainly for the reasons
mentioned above.
Conclusion
Consequently the prime tasks are to empower disabled people and their
organisations, both voluntary and statutory, by providing them with the knowledge
that will allow them make choices and implement systems. Manufacturers and
retailers of video equipment and systems also have to be empowered by
knowledge regarding the needs and capabilities of disabled people in order that
they can offer the appropriate equipment and services to these customers.
6.2.4 Mobile Telephony
150
General description
The introduction of mobile telephony has brought a wide range of new possibilities
for disabled and elderly people in gaining access to telecommunications in general
and to specific services and facilities, in particular. Not only voice but also data
services will be provided over the wireless networks allowing a wide range of
applications to be built upon them and extending the operation "seamlessly" to
most places. Many applications and interface situations are already under
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development or on the market. A wide range of alarm services, location
independent messaging, telemetry, remote surveillance and care are possible. Of
fundamental importance, however, is that the specific interfaces required for each
type of disabled user must be adequately further developed in order to become
coherently attached to the portable phone hand-set.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
GSM technology, current mobile telephony, with SMS, fax The equipment needs to be adapted to
miniaturisation, and email possibilities. the user needs of people with
battery disabilities and elderly people [e.g.
technology voice interface for dialing, personalised
keypads (tactile cues, one or two button
phone, contrast of keys and symbols),
access from text telephone, access for
hearing aids/inductive coupling/sound
amplification]
Current developments
151
The More project tries to solve the bottlenecks that are mentioned above. The
More phone is a mobile phone with a Global System for Mobile
Telecommunications (GSM) infrastructure and an integrated Global Positioning
System (GPS) localisation feature that enables the potential user to have fast and
efficient access to emergency services via service centres equipped with
appropriate mapping tools. MORE aims to redesigning existing mobile phones by
simplifying the user interface. The user faces a single mobile interface to all MORE
services: communication, SOS, localisation/tracking. The More phone has clearly
identified function keys: position, shape, colour, label, tactile marking. Special
simple keyboard layouts (4 dial keys), also external input. The keys have a low
activation force and clear tactile feedback. Feedback to all user actions on display,
speech output, acoustic signal, symbols. It is also usable by hard of hearing and
with a hearing aid: extra loud built-in amplification, handsfree w/o or with
accessory. No interference to hearing aid from GSM by special MORE Hook-on. It
also has intelligent built-in safety: reminders and automatic SOS actions, interface
to external aids, connection to PC for e.g. text communication.
Conclusion
The MORE commercial system will be launched in 2001. This system solves most
of the current bottlenecks, and should be marketed on a wide scale, so that all
disabled an elderly European citizens can have access to mobile telephony and
can use it within Europe.
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6.2.5 H
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6.2.6 Hearing Aids
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General description
A hearing aid amplifies the sounds in the environment of the hearing impaired
persons who wears the hearing aid. Hearing aids can be used for face-to-face
conversations but also for telephonic conversation. Additional equipment to make
telephone calls, like inductive coupling are already on the market.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Current Bottlenecks
Products/Applications
Miniaturisation, ICT, amplification systems, hearing Amplification systems are not able to amplify
human interface aids. intelligible speech in such a way that it can
technology, battery be heard in noisy situations or locations with
technology lot of background noise. The speech needs
to be amplified more than the noises, so the
hearing impaired person can follow the
speech, without losing concentration by
hearing all the background noises.
Current developments
th
In the 4 Framework Programme two projects focus on the current bottlenecks of
153
hearing aids. The LISCOM project wants to develop a listening comfort system
for hearing instruments and telephones. LISCOM is developing, assessing and
adapting innovative technology, based on noise reduction strategies, to be
integrated in the coming generation of fully digital hearing instruments and
telephones.
154
The SPACE project is working on signal processing for auditory communication
in noisy environments. It focuses on the compensation of communication impaired
by hearing impairment and/or noise using noise-reduction algorithms and
restoration of auditory dynamics in order to optimise speech intelligibility. The
results will lead to the development of better hearing aids and communication
devices. SPACE aims to describe the auditory demands for communication in a
number of well-defined working places and the benefit of technical solutions to
restore communication by means of intelligent communication devices.
Conclusion
These project have just ended or are still running. No products are on the market
yet. If these projects are successful, the bottleneck of hearing aids concerning
noisy environments will disappear. The reintegration of hearing impaired persons
can be enlarged if the results of these projects are transferable to other
applications. It is necessary that if these projects succeed in meeting their goals,
that these new products will be available on the market and that this technology
will be transferred to other applications.
6.2.7 Communication Systems
155
General description
Communications systems are systems that facilitate ease of two way conversation,
by e.g. text output, word prediction, integral speech synthesiser. Some of the
products have some other facilities like environmental control trainable infrared
TV/Video, switch control that can be combined with wheelchair‟s joystick etc.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
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Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
PC and small Dubby (1999): communication aid with Further development needs to be done
systems text output via LCD display. The screen on integration of:
technology, can be split, facilitating ease of two way wheelchair-environment-
human factors, conversation. Word prediction is communication interfaces, or
human interface integral with user defined vocabulary integration of different communication
technology and minimal keystrokes for selection. devices.
Phrases and sentences can be stored
and recalled. Options: integral speech
synthesiser, infra-red printer remote
control module, environmental control
trainable infra-red TV, Video etc.
Mudikom (1999): communication aid
with text output on a built in LCD
display, word prediction, speech
synthesiser. It can be installed on a
wheelchair. Options: switch control that
can be combined with the wheelchair‟s
joystick; trackball control, computer
control, head pointer control (light-
beam) control, infra-red printer remote
control module, environmental control
trainable infra-red TV, Video etc.
Current developments
Communications systems make use of different technologies that have already
been discussed in this chapter, e.g. speech technology, environmental control
systems, wheelchair user interface devices.
Conclusion
Also other technologies could be implemented in communication systems, like
Internet, text telephony, mobile telephony etc. First the bottlenecks of these
technologies need to be addressed before these can be implemented within the
communication system.
Besides working on solving these bottlenecks, more effort should be put in the
integration of different communication devices and the integration of
communication devices with environmental control systems and wheelchair
applications. In this way people will have one system with which they can
operate/communicate with several items in stead of using several technologies for
the different items.
6.3 Section III: Supporting users in everyday life
6.3.1 Alerting Systems
General description156
In everyday life, people need to be alerted to signals that give a warning or
indication of action to be taken; a typical example is domestic smoke detectors
which are now inexpensive and widely used. However people with disabilities may
not be able to use existing equipment or services, and special systems are often
prohibitively expensive.
Alerting systems range from the simple alarm clock to sophisticated burglar alarms
and national warning systems. They may be stand-alone devices or be complete
systems involving control centres to support the end user. An alerting system has
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two functions - the first is to draw attention to the fact that something is happening,
and the second is to what is happening and consequent actions which should be
done.
In many cases the signal also carries the message for what has to be done (e.g.
when an alarm clock or telephone rings). However it is more complicated when the
alarm is for a machine malfunction or a national disaster since it may require a
series of actions to be undertaken (sometimes new and unpractised). In the table
below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Telematics Personal Alarms:
network audible alerting systems: alarm clocks,
technology doorbells, telephone bells, timer signals and
machinery warning signals are usually for
individual use.
vibrating alerting systems: vibrating alarm
clocks, vibrating watch for doorbells, smoke
alarm etc.
flashing alerting systems: flashing lights on
alarm clocks, telephone bells, doorbells etc. for
hearing impaired.
Impersonal Alarms: Impersonal Alarms:
audible alerting systems: horns of approaching Vibrating alerting systems:
vehicles, sirens from emergency vehicles, and these are not available. This
fire alarms are intended for everyone who is in especially of influence for hearing
the physical area of the alarm. impaired persons.
written alerting systems: written messages on
emergency vehicles (e.g. Police: STOP).
Disaster Alarms: major incidents, such as forest
fires or poisonous discharges from industrial Disaster alarms: it is not possible to
plants, are often indicated by acoustic sirens, alert hearing impaired people in
loudspeaker announcements from vehicles, or case of a disaster alarm.
verbal announcements on radio or television.
Current developments
157
In one of the TIDE project, named FASDE a special wristwatch was developed
for hearing impaired persons. The watch has an analogue time display and gives
different vibration cadences depending on the occurrence of various events: the
doorbell ringing; the telephone ringing, the fire alarm going off; the baby crying and
the public warning message being
broadcast.
The end report of the project concludes that the alerting system, together with the
RDS-receiver worked very well. The system is easy to handle and the wristwatch
has a very ergonomic design. The safety of the system seemed very good and the
test subjects had more
peace of mind when they were using the new system. The system is not yet
available on the market.
Conclusion
Systems for alerting hearing impaired persons especially for public warning
messages are not yet available on the market, so the hearing impaired persons
are often not alerted in emergency situations. Companies should be stimulated to
put the devices developed in R&D projects on the market, because only in this
case the hearing impaired persons will have the same chance to be warned in time
as everyone else.
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6.3.2 Language based products
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General description
For people with speech or hearing impairment several training programmes are on
the market. There are training programmes for improving vocabulary skills and
speech by e.g. pictures and acoustic phonetic feedback. There are also training
programmes available for improving writing quality by voice output.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Software, First Words (1998): language and vocabulary tutorial These programs are
learning and program designed to provide early development of relatively new on the
training models nouns and verbs for individuals with learning, market and more
developmental, physical, visual or hearing disabilities research is necessary to
using speech output and pictures. see if these programmes
are accessible for the all
Talking Nouns, Talking Nouns II, & Talking Verbs the target groups and if
(1998): voice output programs designed to encourage they have the expected
expressive language, promote communication and results.
training augmentative communication skills for
individuals with learning, developmental, or physical
disabilities as well as those who are candidates for
augmentative communication. Activities include:
Interactive Communication, Picture Identification,
Picture Matching and Nouns by Category.
WriteAway (1998-99): combines basic word processing
features with proven communication enhancement
strategies for children and adults who have
difficulty with written or oral communication. Features
include word prediction, abbreviation expansion,
multiple access modes, built-in scanning and auditory
feedback, and multiple readback options.
Write: Outloud (1998): voice output word processor
program, designed to speak letters, words, sentences
and paragraphs in order to enhance user writing quality
for persons with low vision or cognitive disabilities. It
supports multi-sensory learning because users see
and hear their words; encourages class participation;
story-telling, and self-expression; and can be used as a
way for non speaking persons to communicate.
Current developments
159
The project ISAEUS focuses on speech training for deaf and hearing-impaired
people. It aims to develop a computer based tool for training hearing impaired
persons to improve and maintain adequate pronunciation. The project will finish at
the end of 2000.
Conclusion
There are already a variety of training programmes on the market. Not much
information is found about accessibility for the target groups, frequency of usage,
user evaluations etc. More research is necessary to see if these programmes
meet their original goals.
6.3.3 Wheelchair Interface Devices
160
General description
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At the present time, there are many severely mobility impaired people who need a
variety of assistive devices (e.g. a powered wheelchair, environmental control
devices, communication aids and robotic manipulators), which they must employ in
combination to gain a minimum level of independence. Assistive technology has
made such devices available. A problem with the variety of these assistive devices
is that their interconnection on a basic wheelchair platform is difficult, time-
consuming and costly.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Human factors, Environmental control devices, Interconnection problem with the
multi modal communication aids and robotic variety of these assistive devices.
communication manipulators.
Current developments
161
In the project FOCUS much work has been done to develop an advanced
control technology that is required to integrate a suite of standardised assistive
devices on a wheelchair via a common intelligent interface (M3S- Multiple Master-
Multiple Slave).
M3S allows users to compile a specific package of any combination of technical
aids to a complete integral system, while still permitting them to extend or modify
the system later on. Furthermore the M3S system can be used right-away without
any special adaptations using the M3S plug-and-play capabilities. The power of
such an integrated system has been shown in several user evaluations in various
countries around Europe. M3S is a defacto standard. Assistive devices with the
interface are available in the market, as starter kits and the protocol description.
The process for standardisation as dejure standard is running ISO.
Conclusion
M3S is now running for a standard and there are already some products on the
market. The product now needs to prove itself in becoming a standard that will be
used for integrating various technologies.
6.3.4 Environmental control systems
162
General description
A home that can include the technology to allow for devices and systems to be
controlled automatically, may be termed a smart house. The degree to which this
control is exercised is determined by cost, the user‟s wishes and the type of
building. A smart house can be used to help people with physical, mental or
sensory disabilities to live independently; the costs of installing the technology
have to be compared with the costs of alternative methods of providing an
appropriate level of care.
Within a traditional home, automation can assist a person to control a device in
another part of the house as well as establish the status of the device (e.g. is the
electric blanket on?). In some situations, the controller can suggest appropriate
actions, which can be of great help to those with short-term memory problems.
The design of the controller can be tailored to the needs of the user; for instance, a
controller for use by a blind person could incorporate speech output.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Current Bottlenecks
Products/Applications
Systems design current environmental User-interface: the user interface is the single
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integration home systems component in such systems, upon which
everything else will be judged. If the interface is
confusing, the system will be thought of in that
way. To make such systems appear simple is
extremely complex, but nonetheless essential.
The interface must be appropriate to the special
needs of the user.
Home bus-systems Standard home-bus systems
Current developments
163
The project HOME-AOM is developing an intelligent multimedia/multimodal
user interface which will enable autonomous, natural control and teleoperation (via
a mobile phone) of various home appliances and services (television, video
cassette recorder, washing machine, oven, lights, heating system, doors and
windows) by means of a portable device with a touch screen, voice and gesture
recognition and GSM communication for teleoperation. The HOME-AOM project
will develop a multimodal interface which is close to the natural behaviour of the
end user.
164
The project HOMEBRAIN will facilitate the development of mass consumer,
plug and play, wireless applications to enable integrated control, signalling and
monitoring functions for daily living, based on design for all principles
165
The MOSAI-HS project will develop a modular system for application,
integration and clustering in home systems. MOSAIC-HS is a computer controlled
network of domotic devices accessed via a dedicated interface. The project aims
to demonstrate that different home automation services can be used in a simple
and uniform way by persons with special needs to improve their autonomy and
capabilities.
Conclusion
The projects focus on interface problems and standardisation of products and
home systems. It is important that the end-users will have full access to the
different interfaces and can use the interface that is most effective for themselves.
Furthermore more focus should be on standardisation and compatibility of different
products, so that in the future all products will be compatible and can be
implemented in one system. The next section will focus on this aspect.
6.3.5 Rehabilitation Robotics
General description
Robotics can be of use for people with motor impairments. Manipulators to be
used on a wheelchair and robots to fulfil several physical tasks are a few of the
many applications.
In the table below current products and bottlenecks of this category are described.
Technology Current Products/Applications Current Bottlenecks
Mechatronics, manipulators and robots too expensive products,
166 167
mechanics, control (Manus , Handy ) poor dissemination of information, people
engineering and are unfamiliar with the technology and
design therefor are not convinced of the benefits.
168
Current developments
Rehabilitation robotics (RR) is penetrating the market very slowly and is still seen
to be a "future technology". A main reason is the availability of alternative solutions.
But other factors limit the potential market success. Potential users as well as
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most rehabilitation advisors do not know the capabilities of robots-or are unaware
of the existence of rehabilitation robots.
Conclusion
It is time to bring the benefits of RR into practice: proven RR needs to come out of
the research labs. Technology transfer from the areas of industrial and service
robotics needs more attention. A progressive strategy should be used to approach
the public opinion and convince decision makers by providing evidence of the
value of robotic solutions.
6.4 Conclusions
In the previous paragraphs conclusions are give per separate paragraph. This
section tries to give an overall view on the developments in AT. It is clear that the
national and EU-funding programmes have had an effect on the AT market. Very
positive effects are seen if we compare this market to 10 to 15 years ago. Ideas for
development reported at that time are being implemented now, for example the
COST-219 working group pointed at Smart Card and Speech technology in the
meetings and reports of this group 13 years ago. We can see that the AT market
is following the mainstream market at a “distance” in time and size.
There are reasons why the AT-market is immature. The size of the market
following the mainstream development is much smaller than the mainstream and
often lacking investment capital; the mainstream developments need to be at a
certain “mature” level before it is economically feasible to develop AT products with
it; the AT-market requires longer duration for implementation due to the need for
medical approval in some cases and approval by social security systems.
Still many developments took place and the global conclusions can be: the AT
market has grown, more sophisticated products are on the market, the products
are very much more professional in design and in engineering, and a very large
growth in functionality of the products is seen. However, it is still a market that can
hardly develop without extra budgets for innovations.
6.4.1 Developments in interfaces
A couple of the previous paragraphs, area‟s of AT developments, deal with
interface problems: speech products, Smart Cards, adapted interfaces for ICT,
wheelchair interfaces and environmental control. A key priority is, and will be in the
future, to develop person specific interfaces which will accommodate various task
environments.
For speech it is the training and the need for very high quality analysers to cope
with a variety of voices. Smart cards to support individualisation face problems of
standardisation as many other interface problems do; it is the standardisation of
the adaptation and adjustments while working with the interfaces. The work that
has been done in this field covers systems where the different interface task
environments (PC-keyboards, wheelchairs, environmental control systems) can
use similar technology for control.
6.4.2 Distance communication
Text telephony, relay services available at a distance and locally, and video
communication all had to deal with the progress in communication technology. The
possible applications were, however, hampered by the fact that a prime
requirement of a new system is simple and easy operation, which has not always
been the case for the new products. It is often elderly persons and cognitive
impaired persons who need these systems badly and complexity is not appropriate
in operation of these systems. Very much time and work has been spent in
standardising the communication protocols.
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6.4.3 Information transmission applications
For alerting systems and (social) alarms, Internet for collecting information and
much more, mobile telephony for support at virtually any place in the country, the
innovation depends strongly on the services developed to accommodate the
information transmission. Mainstream technology has been applied in an
innovative way.
6.4.4 Communication and learning
Communication systems, the systems that support speech and language impaired
persons and Vocabulary Learning Systems have developed considerably with the
advancement in computing power in small hardware systems. An extensive list of
communication devices has gained in functionality due to the computing power:
hearing aids, Braille systems/writers etc. These systems all require very special
technology and software to support the function of that technology. Although they
are all concerned with communication, these systems find hardly any synergy
between them because of their special technology, and also because the markets
for theses systems are split up according to the services to be provided method of
service delivery.
6.4.5 Rehabilitation Robotics
The field of rehabilitation robotics is overlapping in technology with many of the
above mentioned topics. Rehabilitation Robotics depends on advanced medical
engineering, mechatronics and software systems to control the links of the
devices. Furthermore, the user groups require very carefully optimised control
systems. Further developments are needed to enhance functionality. Rehabilitation
Robotics is typically a field where a very long innovation process (10-15 years)
seems to be necessary before the products can actually be marketed.
6.4.6 Final Remark
More developments can be reported in AT: many have been outside the scope of
the EU-programmes and are still not within the boundaries of the programmes.
Examples are rollators, which are successful not just because of better designs
and materials, but also because there has been a cultural change in accepting
disability in the last 10 years. Also in prosthetics and orthotics, technical progress
has been made; better quality, aesthetically pleasing designs and better
functionality. For wheelchairs, one almost does not remember the previous public
scandals, highlighted in the media, about the very low quality of wheelchairs. It
would be an interesting experiment in thinking / extrapolating what the progress in
these sectors could have been with the same type and amount of funding.
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7 Developments in mainstream
technology and future scenarios for
assistive technology
Developments in mainstream technology are proceeding at a frantic pace. In this
section we have categorised major developments and described likely general
trends for the next decade. Inevitably some of the categories overlap. Each
section then describes potential for development in the assistive technology
domain.
7.1 The Explosive Growth of the Internet
Invented in 1969 for text communications between universities, the Internet was
more or less limited to the academic world until 1989 when the World Wide Web
was born. Now it is an everyday term in business and home in the USA, Europe
and Japan. Although only a minority of businesses and homes currently have an
Internet connection, most people know of the technology, and the number of
connections is set to grow exponentially.
There were an estimated 54 million Internet users in North America at the year-
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end 1998 , (around a fifth of the USA population) representing 56% of the world‟s
users. This will rise to nearly 65 million by the end of 1999. However, other parts
of the world, particularly Europe will match the North American growth in the next 3
years.
The European Internet population will grow from 34 million in 1998 to 100.3 million
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in 2003, a penetration rate of 35% of the total adult population .
By 2002, eMarketer “Global Report” estimates there will be 280 million active
Internet users world wide: 98 million in North America, 84 million in Europe, 60
million in Asia, 26 million in Latin America and 12 million in the rest of the world.
Two technologies from the 1970s and 1980s were the enablers of the
development of the Internet. Just before 1980 the microprocessor arrived and set
off a decade-long processing revolution which was symbolised by the personal
computer (PC). At the end of the 1980s optical fibre phone lines started to deliver
high-quality communications bandwidth and laser technology provided huge
volumes of storage on optical disk. Lasers were cheap and applied to everyday
appliances: compact disc music players and CD-ROMs appeared. Cheap lasers
completely reinvented the business environment. PCs on the desk-top outwardly
looked the same, but changed profoundly in function, from stand-alone devices
defined by what they processed, to networked devices defined by what they were
connected to. The 1990s PC became a network portal to a larger information
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world .
The Internet has been able to grow quickly on the back of the well established
infrastructure of landline based telephony, available in the USA, Europe and
Japan, via a base of personal computers. Third World and former Soviet block
countries with limited telephony infrastructure start at a disadvantage.
Today, the Internet is seen as a major source of information; one of its most
popular uses is to find out more about health issues. Commercially it is used to
provide information about organisations, products and services. Increasingly,
press, poster and TV advertisements, and broadcast TV programmes include a
home page address for further information. Government and statutory bodies are
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increasingly providing information about their structure and work on the web and,
in some cases, providing a means for citizens to make comments back. Voting
on-line in your country‟s governmental elections is an obvious next step. The first
UK national on-line ballot took place in the in November 1999. The university
lecturer‟s union, NATFHE asked its 10 000 members to vote on a pay offer, and
the virtual turnout was substantially higher than in normal postal ballots.
The social networking that the Internet can provide is growing. It is currently used
by interest groups, self-help groups, and chat groups. Some people have met
partners via the Internet, and there is at least one organisation which offers to
check out Internet “dates”. As more people hook up to the Internet, and become
confident in using it, the social use of the Internet is likely to grow.
In the next decade:
Internet from orbit will become an alternative route, allowing access to
countries with limited line telephony. Low earth orbit systems such as
Teledesic, and geo-stationary satellite networks will aid the global spread of
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the Internet .
Changes in technology (such as ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line)
will provide high bandwidth connections to homes as well as workplaces.
Pricing structures will change; charges will be made by volume of data rather
than time on the line. The result will be permanently „open‟ connections, in the
home, which will change the way people think about and use the Internet.
Trials of ASDL have shown that users make far greater use of the Internet if it
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is always accessible .
Japan predicts that by 2003 there will be the practical use of a highly next-
generation Internet that allows the transmission of real-time information,
leading to the implementation of Internet-based telephone services and motion
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video broadcasts .
Mobile phones and „TVs‟ will become alternative interfaces for access to the
Internet (see sections on convergence of cable and radio, telecommunications
TV and PCs).
XML (Extensive Mark-up Language) will replace html as the Internet
programming language, bringing with it the potential to process intelligently the
information at any point on the network. At the moment, the Internet is a
chaotic place. There are 10,000 websites being added every day, while the
material already there is constantly evolving, moving or disappearing. Search
engines know exactly where a little of the information is kept, and have a
rough idea of where about 35% is hidden, or at least, where it used to be.
Developed by W3C, the web standards body, in consultation with companies
such as Microsoft, Sun and IBM as well as academics and individuals, XML
contains information about the information (metadata). For example it will tell
a browser whether a number represents a price, a name, a discount or a
measurement. It categorises and tags the information, enabling search
engines to look for specified information (eg the address of a company). An
XML tag will tell a browser than an item is an image; a PC browser will then
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display the image while a mobile phone browser will ignore it.
Social communication through the Internet will expand rapidly. Systems that
facilitate social communication by elderly or disabled people at home through
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the Internet will be realised.
The interaction between the state and its citizens will be enhanced by the
Internet. As Western governments move towards a more open stance, the
opportunity for the citizen to find out information and to take part in debate with
government and statutory bodies will be underpinned by the Internet. In March
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2000, a new website was established to invite EU citizens to share their
opinions on their rights in the new Information Society. The site encourages
dialogue between citizens and „experts‟ who have selected interests in
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Information Society.
The Internet will become a major distribution channel for music and music
video. The first world-wide licences to stream music videos over the Internet
were announced in December 1999 by the music company EMI and Launch
Media. Launch.com will offer an extensive video collection on the web with
access to EMI labels: Virgin, EMI, Capitol Records, Astralwerks, Priority, Angel
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and Blue Note. Downloading a MP3 file (a format for music files) of the
latest pop single will be an alternative to buying a CD in a shop. MP3 will
allow record companies to provide a free sample of a pop group‟s recording,
which will play for a limited number of times.
Electronic commerce is predicted to grow at a phenomenal rate and the
Internet will become one of the main infrastructures for human interaction.
The US Commerce Department report “The Emerging Digital Economy II”
concludes that e-commerce is “fundamentally altering the way Americans
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produce, consume, communicate and play” .
There will be widespread use of electronic commerce carried out via a network
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based on an electronic funds transfer system and electronic money system.
The electronic signature or proof of authenticity will become accepted. Bell
Labs have patented fingerprint authentication technology and formed a new
company Veridicom in conjunction with US Venture Partners, to offer a stamp
sized fingerprint sensor. It incorporates 4 principle components: a silicon
sensor, which measures the ridges and valleys of the finger pressed against
the chip; analysis software, which reconstructs the fingerprint in digital form
and searches for unique features that identify an individual; matching software,
which uses special algorithms to match the current fingerprint to the enrolment
sample given by the user; and data protection software, which protects the
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fingerprints from unauthorised copying or tampering .
Remote sensing and control devices will become important users of the
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Internet .
Half a billion human-operated machines and countless, in the form of
appliances, sensors, controllers and the like, will be interconnected. These
machines and their users will buy, sell and freely exchange information and
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information services.
7.1.1 Future assistive technology
7.1.1.1 Access
Access to the Internet will be available through a number of routes: the Smart TV,
mobile phone devices, citizen 'booths' in shopping precincts and public libraries.
Areas for innovation
Specialised interfaces for people with limited functionality eg a project in Japan
is currently working on the user of a PC to work with Windows by ear. The
movement of the cursor with mouse is output as sound; the entry of the cursor
into the region of an icon, window or other object is announced by a distinctive
voice; non-visual operation is made easier by the cursor sticking to an object
when brought near it. Eye control is another area.
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Audio navigation around web pages, and virtual reality navigation (by gesture
recognition, gaze recognition, head movement etc)
Specialised interfaces made available at likely meeting places for specific
groups eg at special schools, day centres, in „sheltered‟ housing (where a
warden oversees a group of residencies)
Speech control of browsers
Smart screen for people with sight impairment, that adjusts colour and
brightness to personal settings perhaps via a smart card containing personal
settings of the user
Intelligent agents to help browsing for people with cognitive impairment, or to
provide limited targeted Internet access.
Software to configure standard interfaces (such as PC screens) to allow
customisation.
Methods of customising public or multi-user terminals for individual settings,
eg customising data on a smart card which the user carries with him/her
Compatibility of Braille writers, scanners etc with Internet browsers
Text telephone over the Internet, with automatic speech to text translation
Video telephony over the Internet with automatic speech to signing
Text to audio translation of e-mail and web pages for blind people
7.1.1.2 Shopping
The Internet makes it possible to shop for almost anything from home. It is easier
to find suppliers and users of more specialised goods.
Areas for innovation
Initiatives to encourage manufacturers/distributors of AT and users to make
use of the Internet. The market for AT devices should expand as it becomes
much easier to match suppliers and users. Users can more easily find a
supplier of specialised equipment, and make their needs known. Suppliers
have a more easily defined distribution channel and the potential of direct
contact with users. Theme portals.
7.1.1.3 Social Contact
A plethora of social activities will be stimulated by the Internet. The very easy to
establish communication with others, strangers anywhere on the world, will have
major effects in societies. Whether or not these effects will be positive is
unpredictable and subject to individual's beliefs and political conviction. The more
superficial social contacts in the USA, (at least Europeans see it in that way,) might
develop in the EU as well).
Changes in our society are influenced by the media: paying much attention to
problems in our society of persons with disabilities and/or age, and/or chronic
illness, and/or culture can make the special position more acceptable. The
acceptance of technological tools might change because of this reason as well.
Some disabled persons are not hesitating in showing their supportive tools like a
prosthesis or other adaptation.
One of the advantages of the Internet is that it allows a person to remain physically
anonymous, and to communicate at the pace at which he/she is comfortable. For
those who are not socially confident, or have a disability which makes face-to-face
social contact difficult eg those people with speech impairment or a profound
physical disability, Internet socialising puts them on the same footing as everyone
else.
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Areas for innovation
initiatives to stimulate the formation of self help groups eg software that might
help members identify other members who are closest to them geographically,
or most like them personality wise,
virtual day centres, where additional social contact can be made by taking part
in a social group for a part of the day
buddy system – one elderly person keeps and eye on another via the Internet
music services for special groups using MP3, eg music for special exercises,
music that helps with memory or stimulates fond memories
7.1.1.4 Information/Education
The use of the Internet for information seeking may be closely linked with social
activities, education or training.
Areas for innovation
Initiatives to encouraging user groups to form and work with suppliers to
develop better AT products.
Targeted information for self-help
Sharing of software based resources, already developed, for cognitive,
learning or developmental disabilities
7.1.1.5 Monitoring & Control
Monitoring devices will become a big user of the Internet. Although most of the
monitoring functions below are available today via a home bus system, there has
been limited take-up of such systems.
Areas for innovation
Remote monitoring of signs of daily living for vulnerable people living alone
Development of sensors that are useful for disabled and elderly people
Remote control of home devices eg checking and controlling the temperature
of a living room so that it is warm when an elderly person arrives home from a
visit away, or warm enough for an elderly person who gets confused and
forgets to turn up the heating
Reminders and acknowledgements eg reminders to take a drug or perform a
task
Remote caring services
Transmission of personal alarm signals over the Internet to a remote carer of
control centre
7.1.1.6 Interaction with the State
The philosophy of open government, where state government departments and
services are transparent and more responsive to citizens, is likely to be aided by
the Internet. Information about government departments, their remit, who to
contact etc. can be made available on a website. Several European states are
moving towards on-line systems for interaction such as making a tax return.
Areas for innovation
Initiatives to nurture the citizen/state relationship, where citizens who need
support are encouraged to take personal responsibility for their care, and their
personal development.
Information for targeted groups of disabled people to promote knowledge of
their rights and state/third party support.
Polling, using E-mail and Internet for support in policy making.
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7.2 Mobile Communications -The Convergence of
Cable and Radio Telecommunications
Mobile telephones have built an expectation from consumers that wherever they
are, they can stay in touch with colleagues and friends. Today, more sophisticated
mobile phones, portable PCs and palm top computers are linked to mobile
networks so that people can work on the move. For the end user, it is of little
interest how the data is transmitted and received, and what combination of radio,
cable and satellite networks are being used. The radio and cable
telecommunications companies are quietly converging their operations. Now the
demand is for better coverage (remote areas of Europe still have poor radio
telecomms coverage, while many cities are congested with large numbers of users
in one radio cell), and greater and greater data carrying capacity as more people
want to use the Internet on the move.
In wireless data transmission, existing air interfaces are being enhanced to include
package transmission techniques eg General Packet Radio System (GPRS) in
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GSM
The capacity of fibre-optic lines are being increased by developments in
transmission and receiver technology. Bell Labs, owned by Lucent Technologies,
USA, have demonstrated the world‟s first long distance, transmission of a terabit (1
trillion bits) of information per second over a single optical fibre, using a new
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optical fibre amplifier .
On the Move, an EU project in the ACTS programme, is investigating how end-
users will make use of multi-media applications in the Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) of the future. There is an emphasis on
producing a standardised interface for support functions for mobile applications.
Among the participants are Siemens, IBM, BT, Deutsche Telecom, Ericsson, and
MobileNet.
Bluetooth, a new, global, open specification, for wireless connectivity between
laptop computers, printers, cellular phones and other portable devices is likely to
stimulate the compatibility of mobile communication devices. Version 1, published
in July 1999 was developed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG),
founded by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba and now supported by over
1600 adopter companies. Bluetooth compliant equipment will be on the market
from 2000. Version 2 is currently being developed.
Europe is seen as very strong in personal mobile communications, leading the
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world with Japan, with the USA trailing some way behind.
In the next decade:
According to the European Commission‟s green paper on a common
approach in the field of mobile and personal communications, close to 80% of
Europeans will use some kind of personal communications device by the year
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2010. This corresponds to 200 million users .
Antennas of the future will be more intelligent. Propagated signals will be
concentrated where they are needed, reducing total energy consumption.
Less energy will mean that radiation from mobile phones, base stations and
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radar is also reduced
Smaller batteries for mobile phones will enable the phones to be reduced
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further in size and weight .
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Tiny mobile devices will evolve. Phillips has proposed „Modul @+ Sound‟, a
small, badge-like device that can be attached to clothing such as the collar of a
jacket. It converts e-mails and other text messages to audio which the user
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listens to via a tiny earpiece.
Network capacity will increase as protocols that expand existing capacity are
developed. Because the cost of installing new optical network equipment is
high, protocols are currently being developed that will allow more information
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to be transmitted in less time, while using fewer resources .
Networks will be simplified. Today a complex array of equipment and
protocols are required to transfer data from one form to another. Signals from
a computer are typically transmitted via TCP (transfer communication protocol)
to IP (Internet protocol) to PPP (point-to-point protocol). They may then go
over an ATM (asynchronous transfer mode), then over SONET (synchronous
optical network) or SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) and finally to the
optical domain. Protocols will be developed that allow Internet traffic to mix
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with traditional voice traffic and carry it over fibre .
The exact location of the user will be refined. The next generation of UTMS
phones will be able to pinpoint the location of the user to a high level of
accuracy. It will eventually be possible to locate and communicate with a
person anywhere in the world. This will bring benefits in being able to call for
assistance, but poses huge logistical challenges in organising a response.
Furthermore, the trackability of the user is seen as a threat to privacy by some
people.
Tiny mobile devices will replace the bulky ones.
7.2.1 Future assistive technology
By the end of the next decade the chances are that Europeans will be carrying
some kind of personal communications device, whether or not they have a need
for assistive technology.
Areas for innovation
Assistive technology devices can be made to look like other mobile devices,
indeed, are likely to be additional functions to mainstream devices, overcoming
the „badge of infirmity‟ associated with, for example, today‟s social alarm
pendants.
7.2.1.1 Location and Tracking
It will be possible to track a person via the mobile communications device. We
anticipate the development of a range of services which provide support for
people with disabilities and vulnerable elderly people. One example is a mobile
social alarm from which a call for assistance can be made whether the person is at
home or away from home. The caller‟s location is shown on a mapping system at
the social alarm control centre. (This is the subject of two current EC projects.)
Another example is a device that would prompt a person with poor memory with
how to get home from the local shops. A third example is a tagging device that
would alert a carer if a person with cognitive disability went outside a pre-defined
area because they are lost or wandering, or moving outside the home at an
unusual time, such as the middle of the night.
Ethical and privacy issues arise with location and tracking devices. In general one
could say that if the positive aspects of an aid or support are sound then
people/users will not be over concerned with the invasion of privacy. A thorough
study and plan can reduce or prevent negative reactions to a device. However, in
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some of the countries in the EU it is already decided that privacy rules are prior to
others.
Areas for innovation
Organisation of and response responsibilities by emergency services, and the
ICT systems required.
Developing good practice in the application of mobile technology to „care in the
community‟ for people who might otherwise be institutionalised.
Development of a „mobile eye‟ and support system, using videotelephony for
people who mentally disabled, to support them in daily living in the community.
7.2.1.2 Interfaces
The tiny button, tiny screen interface of the mainstream communications device
will not be suitable all, and a range of supplementary interfaces will need to be
developed, for example to provide access for people with reduced vision, no
vision, lack of manual dexterity, poor or no hearing. For web browsing, XML will
provide opportunities for intelligent processing, for example, picking out a specific
piece of information such as the telephone number and putting the text through a
speech synthesiser for a user who is unable to see.
Areas for innovation
Interfaces with mobile phones to enable access for people with specific
disabilities.
Intelligent web browsing of XML for different types of disability. Development
of intelligent browsers in end user devices and on the networks.
Integration of text telephones and text to speech technology (eg as used in
MultiVoice project 1998-99) with intelligent web-browsing.
Application of speech recognition technology to relay services for the deaf, so
that the service is automated. Incoming speech to a deaf person‟s phone
would automatically be converted to text which the deaf person can read on
the phone screen. The speech recognition technology could be held on the
network so that it is accessible via any screen phone.
Standardisation of connection point to mobile devices to allow supplementary
interfaces.
Development of interfaces for specific disabilities using radio connections, eg
Blue Tooth standard, which should increase the portability of such devices. No
major installation work needs to be carried out. The user may be able to take
the interface with him/her to work, friends‟ homes, on holiday etc.
Application of video-telephony to mobile communications as transmission
capacity increases and inexpensive cameras are built into the mobile
telephone. Video-telephony can play an important role in the intervention
with, and for the independent living of people with special needs. It may be
used as a tool for intervention, enhancement of team work, collaboration,
supervision, distant education and for remote support. For people who are
mentally disabled, speech impaired, hard of hearing or deaf, the use of still or
moving pictures can supplement voice telephone and enable them to express
or perceive messages. Sign language over the videophone line is another
possibility. Most surprising perhaps is that visually disabled people can benefit
from video-telephony, using it as a remote eye; objects, printed forms etc. can
be shown to a sighted person who can identify and describe them verbally to
the blind person.
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Compatibility with hearing aids and inductive coupling devices.
7.2.1.3 New functions for the ‘mobile phone’
As people become used to always having a communications device with them,
their functionality is likely to increase beyond mobile communications. Health
parameter monitoring for people with high blood pressure, epilepsy, diabetes, etc.
could be carried out as they move about, with warning signals if readings or
patterns fall outside pre-defined levels. These might be combined with an expert
system which gives advice based on the readings.
Key personal information could be stored in the mobile phone and accessed by
people in an emergency. The communications device could become a means of
identifying a person, rather like a diary or wallet is used at the moment. Using a
standard „personal information‟ button, a member of the public might be told, “this
is Mr X. He is epileptic. The first person to contact is his wife on 0121 222 222 “
or “This is Mrs Y. She sometimes gets a little confused. Please contact her son
on 0121 222 223”.
Areas for innovation
Perambulator heath monitoring and advice.
Personal support systems for vulnerable people.
7.2.1.4 Universal Access
The personal communications device could become a single point of access to a
wide range of other devices, eg controlling the TV and door entry system at home.
Universal access to the information society could be achieved via a range of
tailored interfaces, with each member of society selecting the device which suits
them best, some selecting interfaces which counter physical or mental impairment,
and all of which can communicate with base devices.
Areas for innovation
High level system integration and ergonomic ways of thinking about and
operating the services.
Integration of communications devices with wheelchair/environment control
devices.
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7.3 The Convergence of TV,
Telecommunications and Computers
While PCs have fuelled the growth of the Internet in business and in technically
sophisticated homes, the majority of homes across the world do not contain a PC.
A lot more of them have TVs and telephones though. In Europe, North America,
and Japan, the TV has the highest household penetration of all electrical goods,
closely followed by the telephone.
The TV is the most likely candidate for the role of interface to the information
superhighway. For the millions of people who have no knowledge of using a PC,
the TV will become the tool through which they interact with the outside world.
Cable TV is already providing pay-as-you-view entertainment to subscribers. The
step to pay-as-you-surf is only a matter of time and more free service is likely to
evolve too.
Initially, interaction may be limited to making selections from a list (eg which film
you want to download to view tonight), but as consumers become familiar with this
type of selection they are likely to accept more involved processes. They may
think of the machine as being a TV. In fact it will be a computer too. Cable TV or
TV with a set-top box containing a modem will provide the connection to the
telecommunications infrastructure.
The first mobile phones with web-browsing capability are already on the market. In
the UK, the country‟s largest Internet firm, Freeserve, announced in December
1999, a strategic alliance with the BT Cellnet, one of the main mobile phone
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networks, to offer email through mobile phones.
Over the next decade:
Entertainment services via the TV will grow with the introduction of digital TV,
and become interactive.
Interactive learning services will be made available to homes via digital
television using low cost receivers. The number of installed digital set-top
boxes in Europe will grow rapidly from 1 million in 1997 to 29 million by
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2003 .
Internet access will be made possible via an ordinary television set, with a
connection through a SCART socket on the TV set and also to an existing
telephone line. WebTV from Microsoft is being piloted in Europe, and already
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has 800,000 subscribers in the US . NetBox, developed by NetGem, a
private company in France, is being marketed in conjunction with Alcatel and
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France Telecom . In the UK Ondigital, the first digital TV company launched
an e-mail service („on mail‟) via the TV in March 2000.
Personal TV, based on personal video recorders will develop. The recorders
will use an intelligent interface and internal hard drive to digitally record
programmes which the viewer prefers. With easy-to-create viewer profiles,
100 hours or more of recording, and instantaneous fast-forward and reverse it
will offer, at a given moment, a menu of recorded programmes based on the
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viewer‟s preference .
The next generation of mobile phones will offer web-browsing capability.
Combined with the introduction of XML as the main Internet language, (see
section on the Internet) surfing the Internet via a mobile phone will become
commonplace for people on the move.
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By 2003 more people in the UK will be accessing the net through a mobile
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phone than through a desktop computer.
“Surfing on the sofa” will be enabled by Bluetooth, an open specification for
short range radio links between mobile PCs, mobile phones and other portable
devices. Mobile data can be connected to a wide range of devices easily and
simply. The five founding companies of Bluetooth: Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia
and Toshiba have been joined by 3Com, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft and
Motorola, and the specification will be adopted by a large number of
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manufacturers.
7.3.1 Future assistive technology
7.3.1.1 Entertainment Led Services
A wider range of targeted entertainment will be available. The consumer will be
able to „personalise‟ viewing. Services are likely to grow on the back of viewing eg
if you watch an opera, you may be sent details of operatic productions in your
nearest city.
Areas for innovation
personalised viewing for people with cognitive or memory disorders, who are
sometimes frightened or confused by some programmes; viewing could be
selected from favourite familiar programmes
a wider range of programmes and more targeted programmes and services,
for groups of disabled and elderly people. Programmes could include
suggested therapies and ways of managing everyday living with disabilities or
certain health conditions
targeted selling to more specialised groups, based on programme audiences,
could expand the market for assistive technology. Suppliers of assistive
technology will have a more easily defined distribution route, and know where
potential users are (based on viewing of programmes)
signing for deaf people. with auto-translation from captions
audio description of TV programmes
7.3.1.2 Interfaces
Although the Smart TV will have computer functions, the user may think of the
device as a TV not a computer. Ergonomically designed controllers for the TV will
be a key component of their success, overcoming the resistance of some users to
computers.
Areas for innovation
Specialised interfaces for different types of disability eg poor eyesight, limited
hand/digit movement
Standardisation of ports for/to interfaces eg Blue Tooth radio interface
Speech control
7.3.1.3 Video Telephony
Video telephony will be possible through the TV, with the picture displayed on the
TV screen, and a small camera mounted on the TV.
Areas for innovation
automated signing for deaf people using speech to signing software, signing
displayed on the screen
automated text for hearing disabled people using speech to text software, text
displayed on the screen
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7.3.1.4 Smart Home
The TV will become the terminal for smart home technology, controlling other
equipment around the home.
Areas for innovation
Specialised interfaces for different type of disability
7.3.1.5 Monitoring
It will be possible to monitor the data that is coming into someone‟s home via the
broadband data link. This is bound to raise concerns about privacy, but it offers
opportunities for market research. For disabled and elderly it could be possible to
monitor the interaction of a person living alone with his/her smart TV to check that
activity is taking place as expected.
Areas for innovation
monitoring for signs of „normal‟ TV watching or use
7.3.1.6 Socialising
The Smart TV will be the portal for the Internet, bringing access to a much wider
range of the population, many of whom are currently excluded because lack of
access to PC technology. See section on the Internet.
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7.4 Virtual Reality
Large capacity, powerful computers have enabled the development of virtual
reality. Much of the development to date has been for entertainment such as
adventure games, and training. Flight simulators for the training of air pilots
provide virtual scenarios and interactive „aircraft‟ controls for pilots to develop and
practise their skills. Architects and planners can model their ideas and „walk the
buildings‟ before the foundations are laid.
More recently virtual reality environments have made their debut on the Internet.
Bell Labs in South Jersey have developed a program that lets cyclists take a virtual
bike ride, together, over the Internet. Using a static exercise bike and computer,
the ride is a loop in Central Park. A map has been used to construct a
topographically correct image of the area, and railings, trees and pavements have
been replicated. Pedal resistance simulates hills. Riders see themselves and
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other riders. At the moment, speed can be controlled but not steering .
„Enhanced reality‟, where virtual reality is overlayed on real objects is a developing
area. An example application might be a multimedia guide to the archaeological,
geological or environmental features of a region.
In the next decade:
More sophisticated virtual reality environments and activities will be developed
for entertainment, exercise and social events. The Bell Labs team aims to
simulate the Tour de France.
Health clubs will be able to connect people on exercise bikes, rowing
machines and treadmills, to people in other health clubs for virtual sports
events. People will be able to choose whether to enter a competitive event, or
simply select a companion or two for a jog.
Virtual retail stores will allow the shopper to walk around the store, lifting and
examining the labels on goods, before deciding to buy.
The training of many professions will be enhanced by being able to travel
through and learn the detail of environments which are difficult to see eg
surgeons will be able to travel around a heart or a joint, see it working, or learn
to repair it. Manufacture engineers will be able to hop onto the production line
for a wide range of processes. Structural engineers will be able to design
buildings or other structures and test where areas of stress have been
created.
A smart chair will give a strong sense of being there (tele-presence) in
videoconference systems. Flat screen, two dimensional pictures will give way
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to 3-D sight and sound projections that encircle participants.
7.4.1 Future assistive technology
7.4.1.1 Virtual environments
A wide range of virtual reality environments will develop.
Areas for innovation
virtual trips or holidays for disabled people who are unable to undertake a
journey
virtual reality day centres, clubs and interest groups to enhance or provide
additional social contact for people who find it physically difficult to get out to
meet people.
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7.4.1.2 Shopping
Internet shopping is growing at a pace. Virtual reality shopping over the Internet is
the next stage.
Areas for innovation
virtual reality shopping will extend the opportunity for some disabled people
who currently find it difficult to go to retail outlets, to shop in the same way as
able-bodied people
shop „browsers‟ which help overcome some disabilities eg zoom in to display
more detail for people with sight impairment, voice or musical tone
identification of an item on a virtual shelf when a pointer is put near it
aids to help check goods on receipt, eg bar code type readers which read out
the identity of an item when placed over the tactile label for visually disable
people to check goods on receipt
electronic signature for disabled people who are unable to use the systems
currently being developed to pay for goods and services in electronic trading
7.4.1.3 Interfaces
Virtual reality faces the same challenges as computers and smart TVs of
developing suitable interfaces for disabled people.
Areas for innovation
Specialised interfaces for different types of disability
Standardisation of ports for/to interfaces eg Blue Tooth radio interface
Virtual reality signing for deaf users
Work on enhancing input and output to and from the user‟s senses that work
well, to compensate for senses that are disabled, eg a hard of hearing user
may have increased visual „experiences‟ and prompts and fewer audio
signals.
7.4.1.4 Health training, education and rehabilitation
A major domain for innovation is health training, education and remote
rehabilitation. It does have a direct effect on the quality of life of people
Areas for innovation
The building and sharing of health and medical libraries of virtual images of the
human body to enhance training and understanding of disease and medical
conditions eg the Carnegie Collection of Human Embryos, a unique collection
of preserved embryos showing each stage of development from one day after
conception, is being imaged using magnetic resonance microscopy (MRM)
and made available on a world wide web site. Tools have been developed to
be able to slice the images digitally in any orientation, but the actual embryos
remain intact and are not damaged in any way. The images will enable better
understanding of embryo development and help train clinicians to detect birth
defects using magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound.
Combined with the Internet for distribution, high quality, virtual reality training
materials for health and care workers of people with specific conditions.
Images for the public too – not only do images help physicians understanding
but also the person who may have a condition. By being able to view an
images of a diseased body part, or the way a condition will develop, the person
can better understand the treatment he is being offered and what he can do
for himself.
Access to education and training for disabled people who have difficulty
attending a physical school or university.
High quality learning systems with virtual reality human tutors eg vocabulary
learning systems could have a VR human that mouths and gestures the words
as they are taught.
Training tasks in an Occupational Therapy setting can be enhanced by VR
application. An example is wheelchair driving. In this domain it is important to
have the possibility for a real life like electronic copy of an environment of a
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person at home and the urban environment as a VR representation functioning
in a training session in the clinic.
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7.5 Interfaces
Humans mainly interface with computer technology through a keyboard and
mouse, and touch screens for limited routine commands such as those used at a
cash machine or information point. But humans are not born with keyboard and
mouse sockets but rather with mouths, eyes and ears. The next big challenge is
to develop interfaces which enable humans to communicate intuitively, using
speech, or ultimately, thought.
The human interface with a “machine” or a system largely determines the level of
usability of a system. This is true for general interfaces for consumers as well as in
assistive technology. The limitations of the display are delimiting the functionality in
design. For example, the size of a graphic display in a mobile system does not
allow extensive reading and graphical functions which are possible with 17-inch
PC-monitors. Large flows of information are to be transmitted by displays while the
technology itself is miniaturised. This is one of the dilemmas, which need major
innovative research and innovative developments. Display methods focus on high
quality mapping of information to the brain using as small as possible display tools.
Another dilemma relates to the problem of making interfaces easy to use. Some
people say that the best interface is one which can be trained to a high level of
performance. Others will say it is the display with the best intuitive protocol (which
may mean a few more steps to accomplish before getting the desired function) Or
is the best policy to go for high level of personalisation instead of a high level of
standardisation, such that we can all use systems without serious trouble because
we have been extensively trained to do so (modern cars show a large level of
resemblance in the controls of steering, speeding, using lights and signs etc.)
Speech recognition is being used successfully where the vocabulary is limited and
the system can be trained to the user‟s voice, eg to give commands to fly fighter
jets. Speech recognition software is widely sold for inputting text to word
processing programmes but it takes many hours of training the software to the
user‟s voice before they can be deployed efficiently.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is undertaking a 5 year project involving its
Laboratory for Computer Sciences and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to develop a
new hardware and software system called Oxygen. Oxygen is an integrated collection
of 8 new technologies: At its heart is the Handy 21, which is like a cellular phone with
the addition of a visual display, a camera, infrared detector and computer. The Handy
21 deals with the communications aspect of the system, wherever the user is. Second,
the Enviro 21 which is built into the walls of the office and home and the trunk of the
car, also handles communications , but with greater capacity and speed. It also
interacts with all kinds of devices: sensors, controllers, phones, cameras - ie smart
home technology, and allows users to off-load routine and repetitive tasks. Importantly
the interface between the users and the system is predominately speech driven, and
information will be accessed in ways that are more in keeping with the way humans
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think. “Get me the big red document that came a month ago”, for example .
Sony Computer Science Laboratories are researching the human-computer
interaction in which natural language is the principal medium, but other non-verbal
modalities. The aim is to develop computers that are aware of humans‟ real-world
situations, be cognisant of their personal information, recognise their intentions
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from speech and actions and support them automatically.
Bell Labs have demonstrated a natural information interface (NII), for telephones,
which includes an intelligent agent, an natural language router and an automated
banking service. In essence, the NII recognises normal human speech and allows
oral commands. The call router is being tested by USAA, a large insurance
company, based in San Antonio, Texas. Callers can state who they want to speak
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to, or the nature of their call, in straightforward language, and be transferred
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appropriately, without having to go through a hierarchy of menus .
In the next decade:
The mouse and keyboard will be superseded by more natural interfaces
between human and computer.
Interfaces that allow human thought to command a computer, bypassing the need
for mechanical input, will start to emerge. In June 1999, Philip Kennedy of Emory
University and Neutral Signals Inc. received a Discover Magazine Award for
Technical Innovation for brain implants that can read the mind of a paralysed
patient and translate thoughts into commands that a computer can understand.
7.5.1 Future assistive technology
Ideas for innovation
In human interface theory a number of layers is defined: the first layer is the control
layer: the receptors of physical commands (analogue or digital) and the displays for
feedback. The second layer is the signal analysis and protocols. The third layer is the
application layer. According to human interface theory these layers are counterparts in
human functioning. Roughly seen, the controls and displays need the human sensors
and motor-function, the dynamic behaviour determined by the interface protocols
should be designed according to human motor control system and thirdly, the
application layer should be reflected in the cognitive system of the user.
This illustrates the interface problem of people with disabilities: an impaired motor
function, impairment of perception or a lower cognitive level require alternative
approaches in order to get the same functionality of the system as for other
persons (although often at a lower speed). Other approaches are required but also
one has to be aware of the fact that the „information channel‟ is limited due to the
deterioration of one or more of the links. Optimisation to the individual functions of
the disabled person is required in that situation.
Research and developments in Human Interface Technology show very interesting
ways for alternative interface solutions in the future:
Natural language interfaces offering a completely different method of control. This
has been studied by several research centres. Not much progress towards real life
applications has yet been made. This might been caused by a lack of computing
speed at low prices (which will be solved in time), a lack of basic knowledge on
what a good interface has to be, and a lack of speed of input commands (i.e.
sentences) eventually to be solved by speech recognition.
Modularization of the three interface levels: control and display, signal analysis
and protocols, and application protocols. This opens the possibility of
exploiting available expertise on one of the levels for other applications as well.
The modularization opens the way to very advanced predictive controls; in the
signal analysis and protocol step it would be possible to use prediction to
enhance the speed and efficiency of control. Firstly, there is the possibility of
looking at the predicted effect of a control action before it is realised / effected.
Secondly, it is possible to pre-select further control actions on the base of the
history of activities of the system and earlier control actions taken (this is
"extremely" exploited in using communication systems by speech and
language impairment where the speed of input is low and must be optimised
for fluent communication).
Speech technology as input for control has been a prime area of research in the
last 20 to 30 years. In the last four years massive progress has been made in such
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a way that effective and relatively accurate recognition systems have come onto
the market at very affordable prices. Nevertheless, the variety in speech of persons
is so wide (so that the systems require extensive „training‟ for each user) that a
complete replacement of a keyboard can and will not happen for some time.
Present expertise and technology seems at the limits of possible levels of
performance and new approaches need to be added for further progress to be
made (user-independent, full vocabulary recognition in diverse practical
environments, at home, on street and in larger meeting rooms etc.)
Miniaturisation makes it possible to combine many functions and protocols in a
small mobile unit; however the smaller the unit the smaller the interface (either
graphic display or loudspeaker; push buttons and microphone). Thus easy
control of functions can only be realised if the span of control (in terms of
alternatives to be selected or accuracy of the selection), is limited.
To summarise the above problems, human interface problem is a compromise of
a number of conflicting variables, for example:
Wearability requires small device and small controls and displays, which is
less optimal from the viewpoint of a good human-machine interface.
Intuitive interfaces looks in principle a promising solution: however “intuitivity”
for non-handicapped persons is not the same as for persons with impairments.
Efficient, directly selected commands instead of menu-driven commands
require a higher mental cognitive load and training but are less intuitive.
Design for All allows for more common and broader groups which can use
systems but the outcome is less efficient for those who require special
features, size and protocols in the interface.
Personalising interfaces can prevent that others can operate the system with
the same tools. Standardisation is then not the case any more.
The ideal (Utopia) situation is that for anybody (with or without impairments)
interfaces are individually adapted (controls, displays, protocols), are adjusted
during operation to cope with changed characteristics of the user, and are pre-
selected and automatically adapted to the particular environment where the control
or communication task to be performed. Present technology allows, in principle,
for such a set-up, but fails however in knowledge on how these adaptation and
adjustment processes should run.
One solution is to carry personal interface characteristics data on a card or chip, or
have that data available in the machine/PC. This would allow for an automatic
change of the interface protocols and interface itself such that it optimises for that
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particular user. The RNIB has produced brochures, in the context of the COST-
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219-bis research group, describing the use of such an approach in bank
terminal access.
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7.6 Miniaturisation
The ability to provide more and more computer processing power or data storage
in less and less space has been a major driver in innovation in the last 20 years.
This, coupled with higher precision manufacturing (controlled by computer) has led
to the miniaturisation of many devices. Smaller devices can be used in new places
and for new applications.
The PC, invented only 20 years ago has revolutionised the way much of business
is done. Stand alone and later, networked PCs have replacing large mainframe
computers in main office systems.
The 1999 Discover Magazine Awards for Technological Innovation included a
video camera on a single silicon chip, that is small enough to fit into a wristwatch,
and a single molecule transistor that performs the same tasks as circuits in an
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ordinary microchip, but in a fraction of the space .
BT, the UK telecommunications company and MicroOptcial a US systems
company, have demonstrated a wearable computer with a tiny screen attached to
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the lens of a pair of spectacles .
International Security Technology, a Finnish company has developed a wrist watch
size monitor which it claims continuously monitors the wearer‟s vital signs and
automatically sends a message for help if anything out of the ordinary occurs. It
has applications for people who have a chronic illness that is life threatening if it
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becomes acute eg heart disease .
Nanotechnology, the science of construction on scales of a billionth of a metre, is
in its infancy and developments have tended to be confined to university
laboratories. Cornell University engineers have made a guitar the size of a blood
cell, with strings of crystalline silicon, each string 100 atoms wide; a human hair is
2000 times wider. Nanotechnology impacts on materials science (see section
below).
In the next decade:
Focused electron beam instruments which can cut to a precise and tiny degree
will enable the manufacture of tiny surgical instruments for keyhole surgery;
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surgeons will be able to use smaller keyholes to insert smaller devices .
Wearable devices to enhance memory or provide instant access to
references, calendars, and databases, maps etc. will be used by professionals
who need to be in the move. For example, stock market traders could access
information needed to make quick decisions on the trading floor. Industrial
inspectors and scientists working in the field could jot down their observations
while walking around. These devices, some of which may be built into clothes
and spectacles, will also be developed to remind people with memory
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impairment of key information as they are on the move .
Wearable health monitors will enable medical specialists to understand better
how problems develop, rather than only seeing people when something has
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gone wrong .
Location devices (for example, GPS receivers) will be used to call up
information about the surrounding area. Users won‟t have to type in queries to
find local restaurants or fuel stations; everything will be retrieved on the basis
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of the present position .
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7.6.1 Future assistive technology
7.6.1.1 Wearable health monitoring
Mobile continuous monitoring raises certain questions about the total effects on
the well being of people and medical consumption due to psycho-somatic induced
diseases. For chronically ill and persons with disabilities having a good described
and evaluated medical problem this might not be the case but, contrarily have a
very positive effect on quality of life and medical consumption.
Areas for innovation
Monitoring (of vital signs) and appropriate feedback to the wearer (as well as
to a physician) allowing the person to see the effect of actions/diet more clearly
and take appropriate action. Does this result in the person taking more
control?
Non-invasive measurement of vital signs
7.6.1.2 Portable computer applications
Portable computer applications comprise applications where you need them. Due
to bulkiness of systems, costs and lack in usability (ease of use and duration to get
the appropriate function started) the ultimate level of usage is still far away.
Areas for innovation
Memory prompts – unobtrusive display and how information can be accessed,
particularly for people with cognitive disability
Navigation aids – radar systems that help to „name‟ people as they approach a
blind person, for use in business and social gatherings
On-line mapping and location devices for disabled facilities eg disabled
parking spaces or toilet; a library of maps of to be downloaded from the web
Instantaneous translators – speech to text or speech to sign language.
7.6.1.3 Alarm Systems
Systems for communication to get the needed support when urgently needed.
Areas for innovation
Miniaturisation of alerting devices to enable them to be more readily built into
other wearable devices eg transmitter/receiver tactile alerter for doorbell or
baby alarm could be incorporated inside a standard watch or inside a shoe or
slipper.
Tiny, inexpensive cameras to be built into mobile communication devices to
provide visual reassurance to a vulnerable people – see section on mobile
communications
Development in sensors (see section on sensors) to allow more subtle control
and operation of assistive devices such as walking aids.
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7.7 Sensors
Sensors are being employed in everyday items, linked to switching devices to
provide automatic products. Everyone is familiar with automatic security lighting,
for example. Infra red sensors switch on the light if someone walks into the field of
view. Sensor technology is developing fast and cheap, high-performance sensors
are set to become one of the next important catalyst for change. Benefiting from
the trend in miniaturisation, sensors can be divided into several different
technologies.
7.7.1.1 MEMS
MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) are based on use semiconductor
manufacturing techniques to create analogue devices. Chips are, in effect,
intricate race tracks for electrons, built up through an elaborate process of etching
and deposition. One of the worst faults a traditional chip can have is a „released
layer‟, in effect a loose piece of circuit material hanging out into microspace above
the chip surface. That loose layer interferes with the smooth flow of electrons
because it interacts with the surrounding analogue environment. In the MEMS
world these released layers can serve as analogue sensors, sensing everything
from acceleration and temperature to pressure and fluid flows. Car airbags are set
to use MEMS technology, to create an accelerometer that can be built on a single
chip, at low cost. The sensors that are used in airbags today are expensive and
trigger the device whenever they sense an abrupt acceleration, whether or not a
passenger is present. Future systems will incorporate sensors capable of
identifying not only the presence of a passenger, but their weight and size as well,
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and adjusting the force of inflation accordingly .
7.7.1.2 Piezo-Electric Materials
Piezo-electric materials are materials (typically ceramics) that give off an electrical
charge when deformed and, conversely, deform when in the presence of an
electrical field. Disposable lighters make use of a piezo-electric technology.
Pushing down on the tab flexes a fleck of piezo-crystal, generating an electrical
charge which is converted into a spark. Piezos are particularly useful as surface-
mounted sensors for measuring physical movement and stress in materials. More
importantly, piezos can be used for effecting, ie interacting with the physical world
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on our behalf .
7.7.1.3 Micromachines
Micromachines are built using semi-conductor manufacturing techniques. They
are complex in design, incorporating in some instances micrometer-scale gears
and other moving parts. An affiliate of Toyota Motor Corporation, Nippondenso,
has constructed a „microcar‟ not much larger than a grain of rice, complete with
electromagnetic motor and tiny ring-gear drive. Sandia National Laboratories in
the US have built complicated gear-wheel arrangements, 20 of which would sit
side by side on this full stop. Capable of spinning at 350 000 revolutions per
minute, these machines are used in airbags and joysticks.
Still in its infancy, micromachine technology exploits the structural qualities of
silicon: a low coefficient of thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity, a
strength-to-weight ratio more favourable than aluminium, and elasticity comparable
to that of steel.
7.7.1.4 VLSI Video
The next generation of video camera technology will come on single chip, with the
charge-couple device, all the circuitry and the lens itself built into a
microprocessor. Cheap, small video cameras will become „eyes‟ for a host of
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surveillance, security, and entertainment applications .
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7.7.1.5 Global Positioning Systems (GPS)
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) sensors are falling dramatically in price. Hand
held GPS receivers are available for as little as 150 euro. GPS sensors are being
built into other devices to provide location co-ordinates. The EC Telematics MoRe
(Mobile Rescue Phone) project has developed a mobile phone with GPS receiver,
to provide the location disabled and elderly users if they call for assistance. This is
currently undergoing trials. Benefon, a Finnish mobile phone manufacturer, has
demonstrated a mobile phone with GPS receiver and map display. The phone
shows its location on the map.
7.7.1.6 Micro Impulse Radar (MIR)
Micropower Impulse Radar is a miniature radar in which both the radar transmitter
2
and receiver are contained in a package measuring 5cm . Invented by Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, it is a spin-off from a device that was designed to
measure sub-nanosecond events generated by fusion experiments on the
Laboratory‟s Nova laser. MIR is base on the radiation of short voltage impulses
that are reflected off nearby objects and detected by MIR‟s extremely high speed
sampling receiver. MIR can penetrate rubber, plastic, wood, concrete, glass, ice
and mud. It can detect echoes within ranges of 6 metres, or further with the
addition of special antennas. Current applications include handheld wall stud
sensors and non-destructive testing for concrete structures.
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7.7.1.7 The complexity of sensor innovation :
Micro-sensor technology development is very complex. Many sensors are
specialised to function in a particular application only and physical sciences and
application knowledge has to brought together for just one or a small number of
applications. An example is the sensing of particular chemicals to measure their
concentrations in food or in the environment. Other less specialised sensors for
measuring pressure, force, speed, revolutions, angles etc, have to be integrated in
data-analysis systems. For both situations it is extremely important to build
networks of co-operation of companies, research and development centres.
Sometimes these networks are dominated by large industries, sometimes
networks are created by instrument builders and end-users, sometimes networks
are created by equipment manufacturers who together ask for the development of
special sensors.
Universities, engineering companies, applied research institutes, advanced
machine builders, advanced instrument builders, producers of sensor-production
equipment and specialised sensor producers play roles in the various networks.
Development of special sensors for AT applications must therefore be seen as a
major research and development exercise. Structural barriers can be:
insufficient networks organised in a country or in a region,
insufficient financial support of new initiatives (some 100 Meuro are required
for a development)
Recommendations in this sector include special emphasis on linking actors in this
field and the encouragement to very large companies to take a role in
development (Philips, Thomson, Siemens etc.).
In the next decade:
New classes of smart materials will be created. These materials will actively
sense and respond to the surrounding analogue environment.
MEMS devices will be used as optical switches in communications networks,
speeding up the flow of data. Data moves along the fibre-optic threads as
photons travelling at the speed of light, far faster than the fastest of electronic
switches can switch. The systems are often „switch bound‟ - limited by the
speed of switches rather than the cable itself. MEMS have the potential for
much faster switching.
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Small, cheap GPS sensors will be developed which can be used to track high
value packages and goods, and people. These inexpensive GPS receivers
will be combined with MEMS to create devices that track the location and the
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treatment of valuable or sensitive cargo .
Disposable video cameras for consumers will appear.
Sensors and software in heating ventilation and cooling systems will
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dramatically improve performance and energy efficiency .
In cars, the transmission systems which are based on mechanical and
hydraulic components linking the gears, pedals and steering wheel to the
steering column and drive shafts, will be replaced by sensors and actuators ,
linked by optical fibre cables to an on-board computer. The computer network
will relay input and control output with a precision and speed that could not be
achieved with the current technology, so that drivers will get assistance in a
matter of milliseconds - before they know they need it. The result will be that
drivers will be able to concentrate on the critical strategic elements of their
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driving, free from the many routine tasks they now have to deal with .
The widespread use of control technologies in virtually all types of automobiles
will be capable of meeting an emission control standard for nitric oxide in the
order of 0.1 - 0.2g/km (current levels for heavy diesel motorcars is 4-5g/km,
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and the standard control valve for gasoline passenger cars is 0.25g/km).
MIR technology will be applied to hundreds of areas including: „intelligent‟ oil
dipsticks for motor vehicles, land mine detectors, underground detection of
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service pipes, evaluation of materials .
Packaging that incorporates sensors to measure and record how the packet is
treated will emerge. Swedish company JE Systemkonsult won the 1999
European IST Prize with Cypak and interactive packaging system that
monitors, tracks and reminds patients who are taking medication. It allows the
recording of events related to changes in the product packaging such as the
removal of an item. a broken seal, an opened lid, a pressed surface and a
written signature. It incorporates wireless data communication so that data
can be transferred to a management systems, allowing the use of the
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medication to be tracked.
Miniaturisation will make sensor smaller and less intrusive for the
measurement: the measurement can be carried out more precisely at certain
spots, and the measurement device, the sensor itself, interferes less with the
physical variables. Smaller sensors can be combined in a matrix, allowing for
many more signal analysis procedures such as measuring geographic
patterns of a variable, or a change of a physical variable over an array of
points, and the measurement of time delays between cells.
Mass production will lead to many more economically feasible applications and
more stable characteristics. Inexpensive sensors that are required for
recording long duration phenomena will be able to include (build in) functioning
systems.
Telemetric and wireless signal transmission opens the opportunity for direct
and permanent monitoring of functioning of systems as well as monitoring at
places and under circumstances where, in the past, measuring has been
extremely complex. Automatic control, feedback of the variables to the
systems, contribute to the intelligence of the functioning systems.
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Digitalisation of the signal immediately on capture opens up the possibility of
advanced computing being carried out at the place of the sensor itself and pre-
processing makes the sensor system intelligent.
7.7.2 Future assistive technology
7.7.2.1 Safety and security innovations for persons with disabilities
Areas for innovation
The now well-known alarm system could be seen as a sensing system: the
command of the user in distress, who presses a switch, makes the service active.
But to date, little use has been made of sensor data which could be the basis for
an analysis of situations of distress, hindrance, and large and small risks. Much
innovative research work has to be done in analysis software systems for
recognition of situations. Prevention of accidents and unwanted situations is for
people a great relief and thus a better quality of life is obtained.
Major health-risks are the risk of decubitus (pressure sores), responsible for very
high costs of extra care if not detected early and properly prevented. Measuring
interface pressures can help to understand the risk factors for getting decubitus. In
addition to the medical problems and the very costly care needed for healing the
wounds, it is also very disabilitating and very painful for the patients. The body
interface with a seat/chair, mattress, prosthesis fitting, orthopaedic shoe is critical.
For sitting and lying the pressure must be spread over the lesser risk areas as
widely as possible; for prosthetic fitting the carefully distribution of pressure counts
for a more functional leg or arm prosthesis. Measuring the interface pressure is
very difficult: the sensor thickness itself can effect the values. Even more difficult is
the measurement of shear-forces, which are thought to be more responsible for
causing wounds. To date no systems are available which can measure the
interface pressures in a fine enough matrix.
Measuring temperature, humidity and chemicals/body fluids are needed for
monitoring the same issues of decubitus risk. Measuring with implantable sensors
would make it possible to monitor and act on health conditions in a broad range of
situations.
Models for analysis and intervention when variables are crossing a threshold are
not developed yet, nor is the care provision following the incident. Continuous
monitoring variables for risk analysis could enhance the efficacy: long term
measurements will be made possible with very light weight sensors, processors
and telemetric systems. Blue Tooth type communications will make it easier in
daily practice.
Finally we might see wearable airbags to protect in case of falls.
7.7.2.2 Tacking and Tracing
Ideas for innovation
A highly functional tracing and tracking system could be developed for security,
safety and comfort for disabled as well as non disabled persons. A major
development goal is the miniaturisation of the responders. Current GPS and GSM
systems do not meet the expectations of users concerning size, weight, accuracy,
general applicability, height (floor level) localisation, although work is on-going.
The Finnish Tracker radio locating system claims the world‟s first pocket-size
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receiver , but users need a large pocket to house the receiver.
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A complexity is the requirement of integration in a manned service center, call
center type of organisation or a local (institutional) system operated by the staff of
a ward or care center, or hospital or community service.
The range of applications foreseen with tracking and tracing is globally given by
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the following set of examples :
Tracing (most elderly) persons with wandering behaviour are currently locked
within a ward or department „for their safety‟.
Tracing children in relative unsafe area's, especially those children needing
extra care like moderate multiple handicapped deaf children walking daily to
schools and other places.
Tracing persons in distress: wheelchair users, handicapped car-drivers calling
for assistance because of technical problems with car or wheelchair, or
medical problems, or memory problems (being lost); in these cases use is
made of special sensors analysing physiological and physical variables.
Tracing care givers in a distress situation at home or in larger institutions
dealing with aggression by clients.
Provision of environment dependent information assisting the (handicapped)
traveller.
Environment dependent communication schedules, enhancing the efficiency of
special communication programs for speech and language disabled persons
(aphasia).
All these applications aim for a better self-determination of persons with
disabilities.
7.7.2.3 Training
Areas for innovation
In training applications sensors could be applied to measure progress and develop
more interactive training environments based on the feedback of signals from the
body movements and forces exerted. Also measurement of stress related
variables during training and eventually during work might develop into a valuable
application.
Interactivity in training
Training is carried out in a dedicated situation with special training tasks. An
example is to train muscle force by repetitive execution of movements with or
without force and at required speeds
Training is also carried out in a much more generalised environment: an
example is driving in a virtual reality environment.
For both situations the use of sensors (which might be completely different) adds
important functionality and efficiency to the training itself.
Training dedicated tasks face the problem that movements are, in general, easily
quantified by their starting and endpoints. The situation during the movement is not
easy to capture: place and speed might be detected and analysed by continuous
position measuring and movement by calculations based on these measurements.
An estimation of the forces can be calculated as well but in human motor systems
this appears to be inadequate and cumbersome. Feedback of the functioning of
the muscle-skeleton system during movement provides the medical specialist with
necessary information on the human motor system. New, light weight, eventually
implantable, sensors might solve this problem. An interesting development is the
inverse robot arm where position sensors and accelerometers are build in the links
of the arm and the movements of the arm are controlled by the tasks and signals
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coming from the sensors in the links and at the endpoint of the arm . In this way
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the arm can be programmed to any particular dynamic behaviour and can be used
to show an movement to be done, assist a movement of the human arm, or
produce an increasing resistance in the movement. This is a major achievement in
human motor training.
Training in Virtual Environments
Virtual reality is becoming more and more available for practical use: costs are
reducing and the systems becoming more versatile. An addition to helmet
systems, where the subject is just cognitively/attention immersed in an
environment, are those systems where the subject, (the person with disabilities,)
has the whole body immersed in a artificial environment. This is close to the
situation in an occupational therapy department where the client uses a kitchen
installed just for training purposes. The difference is that in the virtual environment
several sensors can be applied to monitor the user's behaviour / activities. More
about this topic will be given in the chapter on virtual reality.
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7.8 Advanced Materials
Materials science came into public view with the development of fibres which could
be made into household and clothing fabrics, and plastics for everything from food
packing to household equipment. In the industrial world materials science is a
long-standing discipline which has been responsible for the development of
construction materials. Advances in understanding of molecular and sub-atomic
structures (and the development of techniques to be able to see and measure at
these tiny sizes) mean the much of today‟s developments fall into the category of
nanotechnology.
Materials scientists are finding that one of the fascinating things about
nanotechnology is that the properties of materials change as the sample shrinks.
For example, bulk silicon doesn‟t emit light, but if it is very small - 2-3 nanometres -
it does. At this size it can be used to make an extremely shiny surface. A super-
shiny surface is the basis of experimental light-emitting diodes that are many times
more efficient than current diodes, and offer substantial savings in electric power
consumption. They are currently being tested in experimental traffic lights in
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London, UK .
Ceramic, metal and polymeric materials and composites of these are being used
to produce devices and structures with improved performance characteristics. An
example is steel, a polycrystalline material (in which crystals are joined together as
sheets). The theory is that by selecting crystals of 10 nanometres or smaller,
joined together, the steel will be even stronger than it is now. This is the subject of
a large research programme in Japan.
Finally, under the category of artificial muscles, materials and constructions are
studied and developed which can play a role in powered prostheses and orthoses.
Orthoses are devices to support a paralysed or malformed part of the body. Ionic
Polymer Metal composites (IPMC), Shape Memory Alloys (SMA), and Electro
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active Ceramics (EAC) are studied
In the next decade:
New materials will be developed with improved functional and structural
properties such as high temperature strengths, creep resistance, and
corrosion resistance for ceramics and intermetallic alloys; composites that
offer high strength and stiffness combined with low weight, corrosion
resistance and high dimensional stability. The application of these materials
will include transport, communications equipment, and electronics, as well as
in construction.
Advanced materials will interact with the development of other technologies.
Superconductor materials for energy distribution will have implications for
energy efficiency and conservation. The development of new catalyst
materials for cleaner processes will have applications in the energy production
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field.
There will be a return to major importance of ceramics, polymers and
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composites with a relative decline in the importance of metals.
Biodegradable plastics, smart food packaging and the development of lifelong
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implant materials are all anticipated by 2010 .
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New road paving material will be developed to reduce road traffic noise .
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7.8.1 Future assistive technology
Areas for innovation
materials that indicate when they are, for example wet and need changing, for
bed clothing or personal clothing
high strength, low weight materials for structural support aids (artificial limbs,
walking frames, wheelchairs)
materials that act as sensors by generating a signal if they are touched, to use
as unobtrusive monitors of everyday living (eg if someone has sat on a chair or
opened the food cupboard door)
materials that emit light in the dark to guide to, eg the bathroom at night
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7.9 Robotics
Robotics, the mimicking of human actions by a machine, have changed the face of
large scale manufacturing in the more advanced world over the past 20 years.
Repetitive tasks which were previously carried out by teams of workers are
performed, often more accurately and consistently, by robots. Car manufacturing
is a good example, and the Japanese have been at the forefront of deploying
robots in this industry.
Robots have also been developed for use in areas which are highly dangerous for
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humans. Bomb disarming and the manipulation of highly radioactive materials
in nuclear power stations are carried out by devices which are controlled remotely
by a human.
In healthcare, micro-surgery is carried out using tiny instruments controlled and
manipulated by a surgeon who‟s view of the procedure is through a screen, with
images relayed back from a tiny camera. The surgical instruments are in effect
robotic arms and hands, replacing human hands which need a large opening in
which to work.
The Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center at Sandia National Laboratories,
USA, have developed a robotic system to repaint the Stealth fighter planes. These
planes are undetected by radar because of their angular exterior and thin films of
radar-absorbent coatings which are painstakingly applied to ensure no defects
exist. Over the next few years the fleet of F-117As will be refurbished including
removing the ageing films and coatings and replacing them with radar-absorbent
paint. The robotic painting system incorporates three commercial robotic arms
used in US car manufacturing, cameras and sensors and a sophisticated path
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planning system that deals with variation from one aircraft to another.
The American Museum of History has introduced a robot which gives guided tours
to visitors. Minerva, a squat, compact robot which resembles Star Wars‟
character, R2D2, has an on-board computer and infrared sensors that measure
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distances to help navigation.
The Deutsches Museum Bonn, (a museum for contemporary technology) has a
mobile robot, Rhino, which conducts guided tours, and can be observed and tele-
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operated through the Internet. It was developed in conjunction with Universität
Bonn and the Carnegie Mellon University, USA.
However, the autonomous robots of science fiction have not yet become part of
everyday life. Robots are too clumsy and too expensive to replace humans in
performing household chores.
Honda, in Japan has a long-term $100 million humanoid robot research project,
whose walking robots have a humanlike gait and can turn and climb stairs. In the
US, the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory‟s Cog Project aims to use computer
and robotic technology to better understand and emulate human intelligence. Cog
is the main robotic platform through which the research is being conducted. Cog
has a body that is similar in shape, structure and degrees of movement to a
human body. It has a computational system, a motor system, and auditory
system, a vision system, a vestibular system, which co-ordinates movement and
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balance and a tactile system.
The Japanese Society of Mechanical Engineering and Japanese Society of
Artificial Intelligence run RoboCup, a robot World Cup initiative, which runs
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international games and workshops.
Advances in robotics are likely to be helped by development in sensors, and the
availability of computing power.
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In assistive technology, the earliest examples of robotics in a very basic form was
an artificial arm made by Ambrose Pare in the Middle Ages. Since the second
world war significant progress has been made in electric controlled prostheses and
today these systems are perfected and sold on a regular basis. In the early
seventies a French project started development of a real robotic manipulator to
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serve very severely handicapped persons . Based on principles of industrial
robot systems and aiming for an dedicated application such that the target groups
of quadriplegic patients, severe muscle dystrophy patients and others could be in
(relative) control of their own environment. Severe and difficult man-machine
control problems had to be solved. A better term might be then "tele-manipulation"
indicating that the emphasis is not on automation of tasks but on full control of the
system and task to be executed. Later on some rehabilitation robotic systems were
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developed where the MANUS manipulator has been the best achieved to date .
The hardware:
To date dedicated and, in principle, stiff components are used. The flexibility of a
human motor system is not exploited yet although basic research is being carried
out in this area by large laboratories in Japan and the USA. Touch and feeling is
not available in the current marketed systems.
The software:
Closely related to the man-machine interface, the software has to be designed for
full exploitation of the mechanical / spatial "acuity" of the manipulator systems.
Integration in a system with other functionality, a wheelchair or a communication
device, is needed to obtain optimal functioning systems. In the future, task support
will be added to the abilities of the manipulators: based on intelligent software
where, like in human arm control, on a task level conscious control by the user
takes place but on an executional level the robot system automatically finds the
best path and adapts virtually unnoticed to the environment and objects in the
environment. Of course sensors have to be build in to cope with any environment.
The man-machine interface:
To control a manipulator at a distant is difficult enough for users who possess full
control of the arms and hands/fingers. In the case of a handicapped person the
"information channel", (the control signals) are very much restricted by lack of
reach, speed, force and dexterity. The solution applied now is "sequentialising"
task commands. Further development is likely in task automation, direct control by
speech and/or gaze etc. One problem is that for each user, an optimal control
adapted for individual capacities (cognition, dexterity, co-ordination, strength etc.)
makes the interface expensive and solutions require much time and money to
develop and create.
Widening the scope of Rehabilitation robotics:
The term rehabilitation robotics covers the area of tele-manipulation and medical
robots to support users in task execution. A much wider application can be thought
of when one looks at the technological approaches as well as the basic problems
constituting the market for rehabilitation robots: "rehabilitation robotics is any
application where by producing electrical signals and commands produce a
movement (of objects) in space".
Taking this wider definition, a whole world of other applications is seen.
In the chapter on sensors the "inverse robot" is mentioned. Also suppression of
tremor by an electric controlled device is included and (remote) control of objects
belong to the possibilities. This is aiming at the service robot: the Helpmate a
product of Joe Engelburger is a first attempt to show the functionality of a service
robot. A mobile service robot is not functional yet for application in a (personal)
care environment. The Helpmate is used for automatic transportation of goods in
care centres but not for tasks directly assisting the handicapped persons.
It seems a very large step to get a really cost-effective service robot system on the
market. An eye catching development, but with a very limited application is the
Sony AIBO robot dog. Entertaining to see it working but not suitable for carrying
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tea and coffee, cleaning the floor, making beds, handling cooking utensils etc.
Closer to a development towards a marketable product is the intelligent rollator
where a support function is given to a person with mobility and stability problems. It
is possible to foresee that such an rollator could give stability, support and
functionality with the rightly developed control components build in. An
independently driven remote mobile base includes the problem of complex control
which can be a severe bottleneck if not proper addressed by new concepts in
man-machine interfacing.
In the next decade:
Gains in computing power in the next 3 years will make it possible for
computers to maintain detailed three dimensional maps of a robot‟s
surroundings, enabling the robot to perform more reliably in a given
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environment. Applications could include carrying drugs or equipment around
a hospital.
Robots that help with everyday living will be prototyped. HelpMate Robotics in
the US, has built a research robot that has arms, voice recognition and stereo
vision. The device is being evaluated by NASA which is writing software for it.
HelpMate aims to raise capital to develop a version to serve as a companion
and helper for older people will be prototyped.
Surgery will be enhanced by development and application of computer vision,
sensors and robotic devices. Projects underway include HipNav, a computer-
based surgical assistant that helps surgeons more accurately plan and place
the socket portion of a hip implant; and error compensation systems to
compensate for any tremors in surgeons„ hands as they control the robotic
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tools which are capable of the tiniest and most precise motions.
NASA‟s Space Tele-robotics program has the goal “to develop, integrate and
demonstrate the science and technology of remote manipulation such that by
2004, 50% of operations on orbit and on planetary surfaces can be conducted
tele-robotically”. The program covers basic scientific research through to
applications developed for specific operations. There is likely to be significant
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spin off from this program. The Demeter project is currently working on the
application of space robotics to the automation of agricultural operations (on
Earth!)
7.9.1 Future assistive technology
Ideas for innovation
Compliance in robotic links to obtain humanoid motion.
More compliance in the links of robotic manipulator arms constitute a new
approach. While approaching or pushing the object, sensors can obtain
information from the reactive forces. This would open up the possibility of
designing systems with a high level of local intelligence, searching for paths
with large flexibility.
Task automation under human control (not complete automated task
approach), task execution support.
The task load for very severely handicapped persons in controlling systems is
very high and the communication channel, the motor control, has a restricted
bandwidth. A good solution could be to automate tasks with the ability to
intervene when needed: this is close to how we believe the human control
system works: automation on lower levels and control on cognitive levels
Intelligent interface with the human controller.
Each human being has his own capabilities and endurance characteristics.
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The challenge is to develop those interfaces which are optimal for the difficult
task and adapted to the user, and adaptive during actual usage (See also the
chapter of Human-machine interfacing)
Haptic robotics for training and assessment.
The use of haptic systems for training and assessment is a big challenge for
rehabilitation where regaining strength and speed and co-ordination is a prime
target in treatment. The first step might be to apply these systems in
conventional task training having the advantage of validated and reliable tasks.
A future innovation is to design completely new training schedules where the
system can find the most optimal track for training based on results in earlier
phases of the training.
Service robots on mobile bases.
The range of tasks in a normal household is extremely wide. Fine motor
movements as well as gross and powerful movements are needed in daily
living. The challenge here is to combine the flexibility and the intelligence in the
technology with affordability and practicalities of having service robots around.
Attention should be drawn to the entertainment aspects as well in service
robotics. Path-finding systems can enhance the functionality of service robots:
path finding will use optical or ultra sound sensors or picture processing
software systems.
Tremor suppression and enforcement of weak muscles.
Artificial muscles is an area of research that aims for motors which are much
more compliant with the human body and prosthetics and orthotics
(constructions which support the human body and do not replace a lost limb as
a prosthesis is supposed to do). An activated artificial muscle structure could
exert forces on parts of the human body which can enhance the function of
(partly) paralysed limbs and also unwanted movements of limbs (tremor
suppression).
Rollator approaches, mobility robots.
The stand alone service robot might be a too far-fetched an idea which can not
solve the complexity of the requirements: small and versatile, strong and
precise, far reaching and manageable in a living environment, etc. An
alternative approach is to provide enforcement and stability to a user with an
envelope type of rollator construction.
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7.10 Energy and Battery Technology
The quest for portable power continues. The drive to produce small, lightweight
batteries that are capable of delivering power over a long period of time has never
been stronger. Portable machines, from portable PCs and mobile phones, to
remote controllers and children‟s toys, all need a power source. In the EC Futures
Project, Europe is seen as very weak in development of high performance
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batteries, with Japan and USA well ahead.
In the next decade:
The development of high performance batteries with an energy density of
500Wh/kg will enable the further miniaturisation of mobile phones in both size
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and weight .
Rechargeable polymer batteries will be in use with a volume-specific capacity
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of 400Wh/l (capacity of current Ni-Cd batteries is 180Wh/l) .
The power generated by walking will be harnessed. Piezoelectric materials in
shoes will generate electricity as they are compressed, and be used to power
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wearable devices.
Fuel cells technology (such as using renewable sources as feedstock for
hydrogen production) will develop to offer an alternative to fossil fuels in some
applications.
Over the long term, improvements in technology to produce and store on-
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board electricity in transport will stimulate electric propulsion systems .
7.10.1 Future assistive technology
Areas for innovation
The availability of compact portable electrical power ties in with miniaturisation;
the range of innovation areas is wide. See section 7.6
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7.11 Transport
Transport is a huge topic. In this section we have limited the scope to personal
transport and mobility devices.
Demand for personal cars is unrelenting in „first world‟ countries, despite an
acknowledgement of the detrimental effect motor cars have on the environment.
There have been gradual improvements in energy efficiency, and reductions in
emissions, but these have been more than off-set by the increase in the number of
cars on the roads and an increasing length of car journeys.
Several upmarket mass produced cars now include a GPS and mapping
navigation system to guide the driver to a destination. The system shows the car‟s
position on a map (stored in the system) and provides instructions to the driver
during travel.
The growth of large indoor shopping malls, conference centres and airports, where
people need to walk some distance, has spawned the provision of electric scooters
and buggies for those who have reduced mobility. Schemes like “Shopmobility”
provide a pool of electric scooters which can be collected and returned to points
adjacent to car parks.
Over the next decade:
the motor car will continue to dominate other transport systems
Small cars for urban journeys, will appear. The Mercedes Benz Smart car, a
2-seater car of only 2.5m length, launched in 1999, is likely to be mimicked.
The use of electric vehicles for urban journeys will increase, but slowly.
Electric scooters, small cars and delivery vehicles will be deployed in cities and
on large sites, but their contribution to reducing pollution will depend on how
the electric power used to recharge the battery, is produced. Europe is seen
as lagging behind Japan and the USA on the development of an electric car
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with a target 200km range and short recharging time .
Cars will incorporate telematics such as navigation systems and dynamic route
planning; anti-collision devices; automatic vehicle location and combined
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emissions and engine management .
Emissions controls on motor vehicles will become tougher as control
technologies enable the process (see section on sensors). Advances on
heavy duty freight exhaust clean up technologies, such as diesel exhaust
catalysts, particulate traps, lean-burn NOx catalysts and high precision
combustion technology, will reduce harmful components of exhaust to a tenth
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of present levels .
Motor vehicles will have fuel efficiencies 30% greater than today‟s vehicles
through the introduction of new materials that increase strength and reduce
weight, and the development of element technologies which will improve
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engine thermal efficiency . Europe is seen as strong in developments that
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will yield this level of efficiency.
More stable and flexible wheelchairs will be developed. Dean Kamen and
Johnson and Johnson have built the Ibot Transporter, a gyro-balanced
wheelchair that can rear up on two wheels, traverse uneven terrain and climb
stairs while keeping its occupant stable. The wheelchair employs 3 computers
that “vote” on what action to take if an error is detected. It is currently in
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clinical trials.
Major changes in the way we do business, work, shop and socialise, brought
about by electronic means (eg shopping on the Internet, e-working from home)
will change the nature of travel. Commuting to work may reduce, but travel for
leisure will continue to increase.
Traffic information and local information corresponding to the needs of the
(handicapped or elderly) traveller.
7.11.1 Future assistive technology
Ideas for innovation
Mobility and travelling are often less accessible and possible for people with
disabilities. This can be due to motor impairments, lack of endurance, as well as
sensory and/or cognitive impairments. Mobility and travelling are processes where
information and communication play often an important role to achieve the goals
as intended.
For longer travel, (not simply moving in a house or in an institution), this process is
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indicated as a transport chain . The links of the chain have to be connected and
in good order to have satisfactory outcomes. An example of a complex situation is
when a wheelchair driver, using an indoor wheelchair at home, plans to visit
another friend elsewhere or wants to visit a care or health centre. The chain is:
organising, driving an outdoor chair, taking a bus adapted for wheelchair
transportation, taking a train, bus again and going into the house or the institute to
pay a visit (local transportation available?); and of course the reverse home again.
Not only wheelchair drivers but also blind and hearing impaired persons face
difficulties in travelling. The keywords are path finding and getting appropriate and
accurate travel information. Public address system information is especially
important.
A substantial number of items can profit directly from mainstream technology. The
implementation / application does not need extensive research, but much effort
has to be made available to organise the implementation. Also the necessary
infrastructure has to be provided: who is collecting and providing the information,
who is going to pay for it etc.?
Possible application areas are:
Travel logistics and on-the-route travel information
Accessibility information
Vehicle guidance
Emergency calling for support
Call support in case of vehicle breakdown
Adapted controls for vehicle steering.
Related problems which need more technological innovation is the safety/security
of the wheelchair, the wheelchair user and other passengers in public
transportation: a standard solution for wheelchair fixation or the construction of
airbag type of take up systems in case of crashes is needed.
The mobility problem of elder persons in homes and directly outside the home is a
matter which could be addressed by another type of technology. A massive
increase of use of the rollators for older persons points at a prime problem area for
elderly persons: difficulties in mobility at home or in close area‟s around their
homes. The recent developments of rollators are focussed at good aesthetic and
ergonomic design with additional functionality (such as carrying small goods).
Further developments can be expected in adding more features to the rollator
systems: i.e. adding active support for balance. An additional support for balancing
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the body in an up-right position extends the autonomy of the older person. The
body and locomotion is kept active and the moment to use an wheelchair is
delayed. The balancing principles of a wheelchair developed by Independence
could be used in a lighter version as a orthosis or rollator assisting the person in
keeping up-right.
This solution to mobility is preferred above alternatives for mobility like multi-media
communication. In theory, it can be said that multi-media communication could
replace (partially) mobility and transportation. In practice, however, the use of
effective multi-media communication leads just to a higher need or a stronger wish
for mobility.
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7.12 Conclusions
7.12.1 The Carriers of the applications, Internet, Mobile
communications and Hardware System converging
The "Medium is the Message" means, in this case, that the Internet (7.1) will not
just change habits but will add new habits and will develop new behaviour. Internet
communication is a new medium that is not just replacing older forms of
communication and data retrieval. Developments are so fast that the differential in
"have's" and "have-nots", or "connected vs not connected" is a major concern.
Applications are currently limited in scope due to restrictions of bandwidth and
good interface protocols (i.e. very simple procedures which are, for example, as
easy as a regular telephone call and having a similar cost level as well / investment
and cost of usage).
At first sight, one could imagine that Internet would reduce the need for being
mobile, but even when mobility could be reduced there is a need for the same level
of functionality and support during travel as at home or in the workplace, and
more. Mobile communication (7.2) will give support functioning while travelling
and will support planning of travelling as well for persons with disability. Success
will depend on the easiness of the operation of the mobile devices. Bandwidth is
also a problem at the moment, limiting full exploitation. The role of service support
as a consequence of the obtained information and (changed) motives for further
travelling is interesting: there is a need for call and support centres to assist in
planning travel and solving problems.
Rather then a single type of display and functionality, a set of overlapping options
for the technical systems in various applications will develop. The overlap will be
larger and TV, Telecomms and PC systems will converge technically (7.3) but
will also show some specialisation in application area's:
for tasks of highest accuracy and quality, a professional PC-based solution
could stay on the market;
for higher quality, semi-professional users, systems with large versatility will be
developed with on-board TV functionality;
for lower quality, and more general support and information functions, the TV
set might develop toward a semi-PC system.
for the lowest quality, the basic TV functions as present will remain on the
market.
7.12.2 Special systems in AT, VR, Robotics and
Transportation
Virtual Reality (7.4) will prove to be a major innovation driver in education and
training. The main challenge is to develop low cost or affordable VR systems with
personalised environments. Creation of the VR environment seems to be the
major work in generating application. The development of VR applications is
therefore, still, very time-consuming and expensive. In submersive VR systems
(the person is finding him- or herself in the artificial created environment), the
disabled person with appropriate designed interface for controlling the VR
environment, might even feel completely functional like persons without any
disability.
Controlling the real environment would be a small step from controlling the VR
environment. This could be conceptually true, but not in the real practice and
therefore the Robotic developments (7.9) must continue. Robotics bridge the
gap between ICT functionality and motor functions movement. It is also eye-
catching and plays with the imagination of people. A widening of the scope is
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possible due to many of the other major developments in technology and society.
The role of robotic systems in entertainment might grow, but current purchasing
policy in social security systems in Europe, may mean it is not used in the field of
AT. Robot arms will become more intelligent by appropriate intelligent control
software and by implementing force and touch feedback systems. Two lines of
research seem to develop: first the automate, the real robot which "independently"
drives through the home performing the required tasks and the robotic manipulator
giving the human being which lacks arm function to "feel" and operate the
environment.
Freedom in mobility and transport (1) are, next to communication, the most
important issues for people. A major innovation is seen in combining and cross-
linking ICT and mobile systems (personal and public), for finding and planning the
best transportation resources.
7.12.3 Hardware and interfaces in AT, Human Interface
Research, Sensors, New Materials, Miniaturisation of
Computing, Miniaturisation of Batteries.
Small and-easy-to-carry and ergonomics is in Human interface research (7.5) a
major dilemma. The main challenge lies in creative new solutions in interfacing:
personalised "add-on" interface protocols carried on a smart card and transmitted
by Bluetooth technology. In personalising not just the personal characteristics play
a role but also the environment which requires particular protocols or procedures
for operation.
The application of sensors (7.5) can make a system intelligent. Sensor technology
is possibly, after Internet, the most strong driver and stimulator in innovation. The
development and implementation of sensors requires complex networks of R&D
and industry including the large industries must be involved. Micro-technology and
physics are the main disciplines next to specialist (medical technology)
engineering. Wearibility of sensors, or even implants to monitor human functions
makes it possible to monitor medically important parameters on a more permanent
basis. In addition to these body-worn sensors, the group of sensors which assist in
describing the environment allow for more automatic executed functions.
Artificial muscles is a topic which has been studied for some years. The focus is
on material research with better and more efficient characteristics: more output
with less energy consumption. Newly developed materials (7.8) tend to have
rather specific application domains. It is very interesting if the material shape and
size can be influenced by electric signals e.g. artificial muscles.
Microtechnology needed for sensors is solving half of the problem of measuring in
the field. Dataprocessing after datacollection and data-analysis in real time is the
other half of the problem. Miniaturisation (7.6) of computing and storage allows
for complex and heavy computing tasks in the field, in mobile situations. The
result will not simply be an extrapolation of fixed base application. The context and
availability of the lightweight and small systems changes the role. However, human
interfacing is a major bottle neck with these tiny systems.
Finally, closely connected to smaller and faster micro-computing systems is battery
consumption. Miniaturisation, energy control, and better batteries (7.10)
should develop in parallel to obtain better portability and endurance of the mobile
systems collecting sensor information and used in communication. The role of the
size of the battery and endurance in the field is undervalued. A major selection
criterion in mobile applications is and will be the endurance of the battery.
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This, annotated, summary of the findings of the previous chapter makes clear that
very much can be expected in AT. Even more, R&D combining some of these
area's could lead to a larger number of problem solving solutions. In general, one
could imagine that particular applications at home or in the field (work, recreation,
education) could very well be supported by communication tools and systems. An
example is that a complex robotic system needs expert support in the field for
learning, sharing experience, solving bugs, maintenance, optimising controls.
These functions can use Internet as the carrier and tele-support of all these
aspects can easily by provided.
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8 Annex: Technology Transfer Models
8.1 Veterans Administration Technology
Transfer model
(Weisgerber and Armstrong, AIR 1989):
The technology transfer model of Weisgerber and Armstrong is directed on the
American situation from out the viewpoint of the federal and VA laboratories and
RR&D centers.
In the macromodel the federal role at national level is of importance for
technology transfer. In this macro model the main elements shown are (1) the
relationship of the Federal Laboratory Consortium and the Federal Laboratory
System to the Federal priorities, (2) the way in which the VA laboratories and other
Federal laboratories collaborate in furtherance to the Federal priorities, and (3) the
transfer outcomes of the applied research and development in the laboratories,
designed to benefit consumers and advance the professions.
Macromodel of the Federal Role in Technology Transfer
Federal Priorities Need to strengthen the economy and Intent to promote the invention and
better utilise private sector use of technology
Federal Laboratories Federal Laboratory System and the Federal Laboratory Consortium
Veterans Administration NASA, DOE, NBS and other
Laboratories laboratories
Collaboration in technological capability
Increased scientific knowledge
Applications benefiting the disabled Applications benefiting the general
through improved medical practice public through an increase in
and rehabilitation technological capability
Transfer Outcomes Infusion of products and processes into the private business sector
Aids, appliances, and techniques for Strengthened economy through
use in clinical settings and by private advances in science and engineering
individuals
In the micromodel the role of RR&D centres is investigated and shown. Elements
in this model show (1) the fact that the mission of the RR&D Center, influenced by
social and economic factors, should inspire the initiation and conduct of specific
research and development projects in the Center, (2) the twin avenues of
opportunity - scientific inquiry and applied engineering - and the general outcomes
of those efforts, (3) the description of four "stages" of research and development
that characterise the activities in the RR&D Center, and (4) the intermediate and
ultimate consumers of the Center's products, processes, and findings.
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In interpreting this model, it is important to note in the stage which involves
research to answer
theoretical questions, may or may not lead directly to development activities aimed
at specific
applications. Similarly, the typical "flow" of product development proceeds over
three stages of preliminary investigation, prototype development, and field
evaluation. However, specific projects may begin or end at different points along
that three-stage continuum.
Micromodel of Technology Transfer in the VA RR & D Center
Mission of the VA in rehabilitation and Social and economic factors
technology transfer
Specific research and development projects
Opportunities involving Opportunities involving
scientific inquiry applied engineering
Transferable Outcomes Transferable Outcomes
Research findings and Replicable processes and
professional publications manufacturable products
Research Stage Preliminary Investigation
Research to answer theoretical Preliminary investigation to design,
questions, develop and test the feasibility of
together with new experimentation or techniques or components and their
simulation to test ideas and theory functional interaction
Prototype Development
Prototype development to establish the
practical potential of a new process or
product
Transfer to Intermediate consumers Field Evaluation
Manufacturers
Federal researchers Field evaluation intended to
Universities demonstrate the usability of the process
or product in field applications
Ultimate consumers
Medical community
Disabled users
The operational interaction model for technology transfer provides an overall
conceptual foundation
for understanding how different factors influence the agenda of research in the
Center and the agenda for potential manufacturers of R & D products. Elements in
this model show (1) the influencing factors that play an important part at each
stage of research and development and can have an impact on whether the
research or development should be undertaken with the co-operation of outside
organisations or not, and (2) the range of contributions that can be made to the
project by manufacturers, the considerations that will influence their inclination to
participate, the considerations that will influence their inclination to participate, and
the benefits they would be likely to see accruing as a result of their participation.
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Operational Interaction Model for Technology Transfer
Factors Affecting Product Development At Each Project
Stage
Research and Preliminary Prototype Field
Problem Definition Investigation Development Evaluation
Stage Stage Stage Stage
User-based demand Scientific knowledge Preceding Multiple units
Literature search Design investigation Test
Factors Professional requirements Manufacturer interest environments
exchange Cost assumptions Financial support Financial support
Experimentation Use assumptions User requirements Target users
Data analysis Component Safety considerations Evaluation
Serendipity and requirements Component options protocol
insight
Outcomes R&D alternatives Feasibility proven Proof of concept Field use proven
defined demonstrated
Basis for Manufacturer Participation
Benefits Considerations Benefits
to Project Affecting Decision to Firm
Share user information Relevance to product line Pre-tested products
Share market knowledge Expected sales volume New products in line
Share technical information Cost of engineering Approved VA buy list
Share financial burden Cost to manufacture Increased market share
Share equipment and software Cost to market, distribute, sell Reduction of tooling costs
Share employee time Selling price Access to early findings
Share design know-how Who will buy Access to VA expertise
Provide access for beta tests Who will pay Potential start-up help
Assure a transfer outlet Who will prescribe
Provide visibility/publicity FDA approval
Patents, licenses, copyrights
Safety and liability
Instruction and training
Field support required
Aesthetics and image
Need in the market
Competitive edge
Evaluations in the field
Agency regulations
Company policy
Potential for expanded use
Validity of research information
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8.2 Technology Transfer Mechanisms in USA
242
Mechanisms of Tech Transfer according to the Federal Lab Consortium
Mechanism Description Features & Characteristics
Collegial Interchange, The informal and free exchange * Includes:
Conference, of information among - presentation at professional and
Publication colleagues technical
conferences
- publication in professional magazines
* Caution should be taken to avoid
premature disclosure of information that
may be the subject of a patent application
or proprietary data
Consulting to the A party outside the laboratory * Formal written contract, generally short
Laboratory provides advice and/or term and specific
information * Consultant certifies that no intellectual
property conflicts exist
Consulting by Consultation provided to a private * Laboratory must approve of the
Laboratory sector party by laboratory Laboratory personnel consulting
Personnel personnel to further technology arrangement
transfer * Conflict of interest must be avoided
* Intellectual property aspects require care
Exchange Program A transfer of personnel either to * Usually for a period of up to one year
the laboratory from another party
or from the laboratory to another
party to exchange expertise and
information
Contract A contract is an acquisition * Can be used to fund R&D that may
instrument entered into between eventually be transferred to the private
the government and a contractor sector
for the contractor to provide * Allocation of patent rights determined by
supplies or services to the the type of contractor performing the work
government * Large businesses may frequently obtain
waiver of inventions
* Non-profit organisations/small
businesses may obtain title to inventions
Cost-Shared Contract A contract is entered into between * Includes in-cash and in-kind
the government and a contractor arrangements
in which costs associated with the * Must be of mutual benefit to industry and
work are shared as specified in government
the contract * Commercially valuable data may be
protected for a limited period of time
* Advance waivers frequently not granted
unless the contractor shares at least 20%
of the total contract cost
Grant and Co-operative Grants and Co-operative * Government can enter into these
Agreement Agreements are entered into agreements
solely by the government with a * Less involvement between the
recipient whereby money or government and recipients than
property is transferred to the acquisition instruments
recipient to support or stimulate
research
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Mechanism Description Features & Characteristics
Co-operative Research A CRADA is an agreement * Requirement that no funds leave the
and between one or more federal laboratory
Development laboratories and one or more non- * Not subject to 31 USC6303-6305 terms
Agreement (CRADA) federal parties under which the or procurement contracts, grants, or co-
government, through its operative agreements
laboratories, provides personnel, * Rights to inventions and other
facilities, or other resources with intellectual property are negotiated as part
or without reimbursement (but not of the agreement
funds to non-federal parties). The * Certain data generated by the federal
non-federal parties provide funds, laboratory may be protected up to five
personnel, services, facilities, years
equipment, or other resources to
conduct specific research or
development efforts that are
consistent with the laboratory's
mission
Licensing from the Licensing is the transfer of * Can be exclusive or nonexclusive, for a
Government to the less-than-ownership rights in specific field of use, for a specific
Private Sector intellectual property to a third geographical area, or U.S. or foreign
party, to permit the third party to usage
use intellectual property * Required that a major portion of the
royalties return to the laboratory
* Preference for U.S. industry and small
businesses
* Subject to conflict-of-interest
consideration
* Nonexclusive licenses preferred over
exclusive licenses
* Potential licensee must present plans to
commercialise the invention
* Government obtains a nonexclusive,
royalty-free world-wide license to the
invention
Licensing from the Licensing is the transfer of * Government may utilise private
private Sector to the Less-than-ownership rights in inventions for government purposes
Government intellectual property to a third subject to payment of just
party, to permit the third party to compensation
use intellectual property * Must follow existing procurement rules
and instructions
Small Business The SBIR program is federally * 2-year confidentiality limit on data
Innovation Research funded to promote small business * Contractor may obtain title to inventions
(SBIR) participation in government
programs
Use of User Facilities User facilities are unique, * Includes Designated User Facilities and
complex, experimental scientific Other User Resources
facilities including equipment and * Research may be conducted on a
expertise at a government proprietary or non-proprietary basis
laboratory designated by the * For proprietary R&D, full cost recovery is
government for use by the required. Patent rights generally go to
technical community, universities, inventor and proprietary data of the user
industry, other laboratories, and can be protected
other government entities * For non-proprietary R&D, title to
inventions goes to the user but data
generated are freely available
* If funded under another government
contractor or international agreement,
users are subject to those intellectual
property clauses
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Mechanism Description Features & Characteristics
Small Business An award-contracting program * Appropriate for non-profit colleges and
Technology Transfer targeted for small businesses to universities; non- profit research
(STTR) Program form co-operative agreements institutions; contractor-operated federally
with qualified non-profit funded R&D centers
organisations * Five federal agencies -- Defence,
Energy, Health & Human Services, NSF,
NASA
* Modelled after SBIR and based on
CRADA
Work for Others Contract between an agency and * A unique Federal capability that works for
a non-federal partner for contract commercial benefit
R&D to be performed by a federal * Work must fit within mission and
laboratory or facility priorities of the Federal establishment
* In most cases, all cost are recovered
from the non-federal partner
8.3 Technology Transfer – Subsidy Arrangements
in Selected European Countries
The Netherlands:
Via Senter the following list of possible subsidy arrangements can be advised.
Subsidy arrangements: directed on/organised by: short description / goal:
BTS: Bedrijfsgerichte The Netherlands to stimulate technological co-operation between
Technologische By the ministry of companies, and between companies and
Samenwerkingsprojecten Economical Affairs knowledge institutes, in order to achieve more
(co-operation projects investments of companies in R&D activities.
directed on companies and Budget 2000 is NLG 30 million (ca. 13.6 million
technology) euro).
Haalbaarheidsprojecten The Netherlands SME‟s can apply for this subsidy to execute
MKB By the ministry of feasibility studies in order to give insight in the
(feasibility projects SME) Economical Affairs implementation of technological innovations of a
product or service.
Budget 2000 is NLG 12,5 million (ca. 5.7 million
euro).
Informe The Netherlands an information service providing information
By the ministry of about the electronic highway, multimedia and
Economical Affairs electronic commerce.
IOP: innovatiegrichte The Netherlands Innovation R&D programmes which provide
onderzoeksprogramma‟s By the ministry of subsidies to innovation directed R&R projects at
(R&D programmes directed Economical Affairs universities and other R&D institutes, in order to
on innovation) make the R&D field more accessible for
companies and establish more contacts. The
IOP‟s stimulate interaction between R&D and
companies via projects, knowledge transfer and
networking. The development form fundamental
to applied research is stimulated.
ZON : a R&D programme in The Netherlands This R&D programme subsidies projects in the
the field of Health Care By the ministry of Health, field of Health Care and Prevention and
Welfare and Sport technology
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Subsidy arrangements: directed on/organised by: short description / goal:
NWO: organisation in the The Netherlands This organisation arranges R&D programmes for
field of fundamental and By the ministry of Education, subsidising scientific R&D projects amongst
strategic research Culture and Science others in the field of Rehabilitation and Health
Care
Budget 1998 was NLG 655 million (ca. 290
million euro)
SBT: Subsidieregeling The Netherlands Subsidy arrangement for branch centres to
Branchecentra voor By the ministry of enlarge the branch specific knowledge of SME
Technologie Economical Affairs by information provision, advising, and
(subsidy arrangement for education, to increase the absorptive capacity of
technology branch centres) SME.
Budget 2000 is NLG 2 million (ca. 0.9 million
euro)
T&S: Technologie & The Netherlands This programme T&S challenges companies to
Samenleving By the ministry of make more intensive use of technology to solve
(technology and society) Economical Affairs social problems such as re-integration of
handicapped in work.
TOK: Technische The Netherlands a project finance arrangement for companies
Ontwikkelingskredieten By the ministry of executing technical risky projects, to take away
(technical development Economical Affairs some of the financial pressure for the companies
credits) with max. 40% of the project costs and max.
NLG 25 million per company per year. The credit
bears risks which means that pay-back depends
on the commercial success or failure of the
development.
Budget 2000 is NLG 70 million (ca. 32 million
euro).
KREDO: kredietregeling The Netherlands Dutch development projects can apply for a
elektronische By the ministry of credit of max. 40% of the project costs (minimal
dienstenontwikkeling Economical Affairs NLG 200.000,=) as a contribution to the
(credit arrangement for development of electronic highways in NL. The
electronic service credit bears risks which means that pay-back
development) depends on the commercial success or failure of
the development.
BIT/EUREKA EU / Senter Stimulation of market directed co-operation
between European companies and R&D
institutes in the field of high-quality technology
for R&D and feasibility projects, in order to give a
new impulse to productivity and competition.
Budget 2000 is NLG 18 million (ca 8 million
euro).
EG-Liaison EU / Senter Dutch service which provides information and
(is a department of Senter) advice and training to enhance participation of
Dutch companies and institutes in European
R&D programmes, and stimulate innovative co-
operation in Europe.
IRC-Nederland EU this IRC facilitates and supports Dutch
(innovation relay centre is a co-operation between companies in finding European partners, and
Nederland) Senter and Syntens provides information about finances of
innovation and intellectual property rights, and
exploitation.
Belgium:
Via IWT the following list of subsidy arrangements can be advised.
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Subsidy directed on/organised Short description / goal:
arrangements: by:
Industrieel Belgium Support of execute exploratory research or pre-
basisonderzoek by the ministry of competitive research
(industrial basic Economic Affairs Max. 50% subsidy of total project costs, for SME
research) max. 60%
Prototype onderzoek Belgium Support of development projects for new
(prototype research) by the ministry of products or production processes
Economic Affairs Max. 50% advanced payment, for SME 60%
KMO- Belgium Support for SME to perform pilot studies to
haalbaarheidsstudie by the ministry of check and arrange the preconditions for the
(SME feasibility Economic Affairs proposal of a full R&D project. Project duration is
studies) max. 9 months, and the max budget is 60% of
project costs.
KMO- Belgium Support for SME to develop new products or
innovatieprojecten by the ministry of production processes, with the risk of failure.
(SME innovation Economic Affairs Project duration is max. 18 months and max.
projects) budget is a grant of 35% of the project costs, or
a loan of 80% of the total project costs.
Actie- en Belgium These programmes stimulate R&D and thus
Impulsprogramma‟s by the ministry of innovation and technology transfer within the
(action- and impulse Economic Affairs Belgium industry for the fields of energy (VLIET),
programmes) ICT (ITA II) and multimedia (MEDIALAB)
Collectief onderzoek Belgium Support of R&D projects of industrial sector
(collective research) by the ministry of centra
Economic Affairs
STWW: Strategische Belgium This programme supports the industry and
Technologiën voor by the ministry of especially the university society in executing
welzijn en welvaart Economic Affairs R&D technology projects, where involvement of
(strategic technologies user groups is especially wanted.
for wellbeing and
welfare)
IRC-Flanders EU the IRC‟s facilitate and support Belgium
IRC-Wallonie companies in finding European partners, and
IRC-Brussels provides information about finances of innovation
and intellectual property rights, and exploitation.
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9 Annex: Assistive Technology
9.1 Application domains and areas of research
The projects funded under Telematics Application for the Integration of the Disabled and Elderly have been grouped by the European
Commission according to six domains. These domain areas are further broken down into application areas, which provide a classification of
the projects. A summary is given below.
Domain Application Application Application Application Application Application
1. Access to technologies Computer environments Educational and Telecommunication and Telematic services Teleworking
and related services and public terminals vocational support teleinformation
(24,507 KEURO-44%)
PRINT: non-impact printer ENABL: enabler for ALDICT: access of ACTION: assisting using
and plotter for computer based persons with learning telematic interventions to RESORT: remote service
Braille/Moon and tactile vocational tasks with disabilities to information meet older person‟s of rehabilitation
graphics language and speech and communication needs technology
VISIOBOARD: gaze MULTIPLE: multimedia technologies CREST: clinical
control system to provide education and training CAPTION LIFE: fast rehabilitation using
services and applications system Velotype relay service for electrical stimulation via
to severely handicapped PLAY: hardware and hearing impaired people telematics
citizens software for storage of MORE: mobile rescue SENIOR ONLINE: use of
various music input, phone networks for reducing the
conversion of different SAFE21: social alarms for isolation of elderly people
Braille syntax into sound, Europe in the 21st and people with mobility
graphic, Braille output and Century impairments
telematic access SEDODEL: secure SWIFT: user orientated
SIGNING BOOKS: document for blind and and workflow integrated
signing books for the deaf partially sighted people federation of service
TELEMATE: telematic VISTEL: visual impaired providers for the elderly
multidisciplinary assistive based telephony
technology education WAI: web accessibility
initiative
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Domain Application Application Application Application Application Application
2. Life at home and Home systems Location and remote
remote care support
(9,242 KEURO-17%)
HOME-AOM: home DISCUS: distance
applications optimum information, support and
multimedia/multimodal communication for
system for environment European carers
Control FACILE: support tools for
HOMEBRAIN: homebrain housing design and
design for all management, integrated
MOSAIC-HS: modular with telematics systems
system for application and services, devoted to
integration and clustering disabled and elderly
in home system people
RISE: caring for the
elderly in the information
society era
3. Mobility and transport Advanced wheelchairs Orientation
(4,010 KEURO-7%)
TRANSWHEEL:
transportation wheelchair ARIADNE: access,
with high impact safety information and
and advanced sensor navigation support in the
comfort for people with labyrinth of large buildings
mobility problems BARRIER INFO:
development of a
multimedia database
providing information on
accessibility of public
buildings for people with
reduced mobility
PAM-AID: personal
adaptive mobility aid for
the frail and elderly
visually impaired
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Domain Application Application Application Application Application Application
4. Control and Integrated controls Robotic systems
manipulation
(2,880 KEURO-5%) HATS: hand assessment MOBIL: intelligent mobility
and treatment system and transportation aid for
ICAN: integrated older people with
communication and combined motor and
control for all needs mental impairment
TREMOR: development
and validation of new
assistive devices for the
treatment of disabilities
caused by tremor
5. Restoration and Abilities and training Augmentative Functional electrical Hearing enhancement Motor rehabilitation Training of natural speech
enhancement of function communication solutions stimulation or signing
(9,815 KEURO-18%)
TASC: telematics PCAD: portable TOSAFES: treatment of LISCOM: listening DRAMA: developments in ISAEUS: speech training
applications supporting communication assistant obstructive sleep apnoea comfort system for rehabilitation of the arm - for deaf and hearing
cognition for people with acquired with functional electrical hearing instruments and a multimedia approach impaired people
dysphasia stimulation telephones MANUS: modular
REACT: real time SPACE: signal anthropomorphous user
communication terminal processing for auditory adaptable hand
communication in noisy prosthesis with enhanced
environments mobility and force
feedback
TOMPAW: a totally
modular prosthetic arm
with high workability
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Domain Application Application Application Application Application Application
6. Market issues and User support tools
quality of life
(5,087 KEURO-9%) ASTRID: a socio-
technical response to the
needs of individuals with
dementia and their carers
DAILY: make daily life
easier
EASYTEX: esthetical,
adjustable, serviceable
and mainstay textiles for
disabled and elderly
EATS: efficiency of
assistive technology and
services
EUSTAT: empowering
users through assistive
technology
IMPACT: increasing the
impact of assistive
technology
NATASHA: network and
tools for the assessment
of speech/language and
hearing ability
NJORD-TIDE: methods
for user-sensitive
evaluations of domotic
environments
SERVICE 2000:
intelligent service shops
for the elderly and
disabled
VOICE: giving a voice to
deaf persons, by
developing awareness of
voice-to-text recognition
capabilities
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10 Annex: Past and Future Conferences
on Assistive Technology
10.1 Past Conferences (June1998-June 2000)
1998
7 June 1998: Ask the experts symposium (sponsored by ALS Association). Los Angeles, CA.
10 June 1998: The Future Shape of Cyberspace: Virtually There. Birmingham, UK.
20-25 June 1998: ED-MEDIA/ED-TELECOM 98, World Conference on Educational
Multimedia and Hypermedia and World Conference on Educational
Telecommunications. Freiburg, Germany.
29 June 1998: RESNA‟98. Minneapolis, MN.
18-23 July 1998: Alliance for Technology Access Annual Institute. Park City, UT.
24-27 August 1998: ISSAAC: International Society for Augmentative and Alternative
Communication. Dublin, Ireland.
nd
9-11 September 1998: The 2 European Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and
Associated Technologies - ECDVRAT „98. Skövde, Sweden. Topics: Virtual Life Skills,
Interfacing to Virtual Environments, Training, Assessment & Rehabilitation, Virtual
Environments & Visual Impairment, Sign Language & Gesture Recognition, Enhancing
Mobility, Spatial Orientation & Navigation, and Modelling & „Mixed‟ Realities.
21-24 October 1998: Closing the Gap. Minneapolis, MN.
30-31 October 1998: Southeast Augmentative Communication Conference. Birmingham.
19-22 November 1998: ASHA: Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-
Hearing Association. San Antonio, TX.
1999
17-20 March 1999: CSUN: Technology and Persons with Disabilities. Los Angeles, CA.
18-20 March 1999: FETC: Florida Educational Technology Conference. Orlando, FL.
June 1999: Accessibility in the Workplace. NBDC (National Business & Disability
Council). Foster City, CA. Topics: accessible features of Microsoft products, including
Windows, Internet Explorer, and Office. The second topic is: Other Assistive Technologies.
Contact: Microsoft Foster City Office.
22-24 June1999: NECC‟99 - Spotlight on the future. Atlantic City, NJ.
25-29 June 1999: RESNA‟99. Long Beach, CA. Descriptors: rehabilitation, rehabilitation
engineering, assistive devices, assistive technology, independent living, augmentative
communication. Contact: RESNA; web site: www.resna.org.
5-7 July 1999: Virtual Reality World Congress. Brussels, Belgium. Topics: 48 hours
information, intellectual stimulation, demonstrations, predictions, opinion, debate… and visions
of the future for VR. Interesting is the co-operation of the European Commission. Jean-Yves
Roger of the EC will give a presentation about the EC and the significant investment it has
made in VR-based projects. Providing a review of past experience as well as a status report on
th
progress with the 5 Framework Programme.
st
12-16 July 1999: Vision ‟99: Vision Rehabilitation for the 21 Century. New York City.
Contact: The lighthouse International.
17-18 July 1999: European Braille Production Conference. Queen Victoria College
Birmingham, UK. Contact: Techno-Vision Systems Limited.
28-30 July 1999: Policy challenges in the Internet age. Amsterdam Summer University, The
Netherlands. Contact: Van Dusseldorp & Partners, European Internet Strategies; web site:
www.vandusseldorp.com and/or www.europamedia.com.
16-17 August 1999: Life beyond the Information Society. Turku, Finland. The event will be
organised jointly by the “Citizenship and Ecomodernization in the Information Society - The
Futures Approach” (FUTU-Project), which is part of the Finnish Academy‟s Information
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Research Programme, and the Finland Futures Research Centre. Contact: Finland Futures
Research Centre.
13-16 September 1999: Retrofitting for Accessibility. Gatlinburg, TN. Contact: NCA; web
site: www.indiana.edu/~nca.
30 September-2 October 1999: Southeast Augmentative Communication Conference.
Birmingham, AL. Contact: SEAC Conference.
6-9 October 1999: Assistive Technology Industry Association World Conference ‟99.
Orlando, FL. Contact: Assistive Technology Industry Association.
8-10 October 1999: Annual Conference of the United States Society for Augmentative
and Alternative Communication (USSAAC). Orlando, Florida. It is being held in conjunction
with the week-long, international Assistive Technology Event, and being planned with the new
Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) and the Alliance for Technology Access
(ATA). This is the first BIG EAST COAST assistive tech event. Contact: USSAAC.
th
14 October 1999: North Carolina Assistive Technology Project: 9 Annual AT Expo.
Raleigh, NC.
21-23 October 1999: Closing the Gap Conference in Computer Technology in Special
Education and Rehabilitation. Bloomingdale, MN. Contact: Closing the Gap; web site:
www.closingthegap.com.
th
1-5 November 1999: 5 European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive
Technology. Assistive Technology on the Threshold of the New Millennium. AAATE
(Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe). Düsseldorf,
Germany. Topics: AT for children, AT for older adults, AT for activity of daily living (ADL) tasks,
AT for education and training, AT in the work environment, AT for restoration and
enhancement of functions, AT for support of mobility, mainstreaming and universal design,
user empowerment, socio-economic evaluation, issue of human-machine interaction, change
of social systems and service delivery, industrial competitiveness and technology transfer,
education and training in AT, and opportunity and challenge on the threshold of the new
millennium. The AAATE conference will be presented at the occasion of REHA international,
which is the world‟s leading fair on rehabilitation technology. Contact: AAATE;
web site: www.fernuni-hagen.de/FTB/AAATE99.
18-21 November 1999: ASHA: American Speech-Language Hearing Association
Conference. San Francisco, CA.
2000 (until June)
th
January 2000: 18 Annual International Technology, Reading & Learning Difficulties
Conference. San Francisco, CA. Contact: ECC; web site: www.trld.com.
2-5 April 2000: The special Education World Congress 2000. Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada.
10.2 Future Conferences (July 2000-2001)
2000 (from July)
28 June-2 July 2000: RESNA 2000 Annual Conference. Technology for the New
Millennium. Website: www.resna.org/resna/resna2k/index.html. Email:
RESNA2000@resna.org.
1 June- 31 October 2000: Integration von Behinderten in die Arbeitswelt. EXPO 2000,
Themenpark Zukunft der Arbeit. Hannover, Germany.
th
14-16 July 2000: Vision Quest 2000: 11 World Congress of Retinal International. Westin
Harbour Castle, Toronto ON.
17-21 July 2000: International Conference on Computers Helping People with Special
Needs (ICCHP). Karlsruhe University, Germany. Contact: Universität Karlsruhe; web site:
szswww.ira.uka.de/icchp2000.html.
2-6 August 2000: ISAAC 2000. AAC in the new millennium. Washington, DC (USA).
4-5 September 2000: AAATE 2000 Seminar. The Potential of the WWW for Assistive and
Rehabilitative Technology. University of Hertfordshire, Great Britain. Organiser: Prof. Helen
Petrie.
Final report October 2000 page 150 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
6-9 September 2000: REHAB 2000. 11. Internationale Fachmesse für Rehabilitation,
Pflege und Integration. Messezentrum Nürnberg, Germany. Organiser: interService
Borgmann GmbH.
20-22 September 2000: Integra. Fachmesse Integration Rehabilitation. Altenhof,
Österreich. Organiser: Organisationsbüro integra 2000.
rd
25-26 September 2000: The 3 International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and
Associated Technologies - ICDVRAT 2000. Sardinia, Italy. Topics: papers are encouraged in
all areas which span Disability, Virtual Reality and its Associated Technologies, encompassing
both practical application and more generic research. The following topics are just a few of
those which will be relevant to the conference: Communication and Language, Virtual and
Enhanced Environments, Rehabilitation, Clinical assessment, Cognition, Computer access,
Haptic devices, Visual Impairment, Mobility, Medical systems, Input Device/Sensors and
Actuators, Communications aids, Multi-user systems for user interaction, Tools for
architectural/CAD design, Visual impairment through virtual simulation, Wheelchair navigation
through virtual environments, Product design testing and prototyping, Training tools for
rehabilitation, Augmented reality for people with disability, Ambisonics (3D Sound), Cognitive
processing and virtual environments, Human Factors issues. Contact: ICDVRAT 98.
3-5 October 2000: EUROGIFU. An official event of the EU-JAPAN IT month. Gifu, Japan.
Organiser: Sigma Consultants.
th
17-21 October 2000: 18 Annual Closing the Gap Conference. Computer technology in
special education and rehabilitation. Minneapolis, USA. Organiser:
info@closingthegap.com.
18-20 October 2000: Iberdiscap 2000. Madrid, Spain. Organiser: iberdiscap@iai.csic.es.
18-21 October 2000: REHACARE International 20000. Internationale Fachmesse für
Menschen mit Behinderung und Plegebedarf. Düsseldorf, Germany. Organiser: Messe
Düsseldorf.
6-8 November 2000: IST 2000 Nice. The Information Society for all. Nice Acropolis, France.
Organiser: IST 2000 Secretariat.
13-15 November 2000: ASSETS 2000. The fourth international ACM SIGCAPH conference
on Assistive Technologies. Washington DC, USA.
www.acm.org/sigs/conferences/assets00/.
16-17 November 2000: CUU 2000. ACM Conference on Universal Usability. Washington
DC, USA. www.acm.org/sigs/sigchi/cuu/.
2001
th
19-24 March 2001: Technology and Persons with disabilities. 2001 Conference; 16
Annual International Conference (CSUN). Los Angeles.
th
1-5 April 2001: EFRR. 7 European Congress of Research in Rehabilitation. Madrid, Spain.
Organiser: INYECC-Congress.
25-27 April 2001: ICORR 2001. Evry, France. Organiser: mounir.mokhtari@int-evry.fr.
7-9 June 2001. Rehavision. Messe und Forum für Rehabilitation und Integration. Leipzig,
Germany. Organiser: Leipziger Messe.
th
5-10 August 2001. HCI International 2001. 9 International Conference on Human-
st
Computer Interaction and 1 International Conference on Universal Access in Human-
Computer Interaction. Organiser: salvendy@ecn.puduce.edi or cs.@ics.forth.gr.
th
3-6 September 2001: 6 European Conference for the Advancement of Assistive
Technology. AAATE (Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in
Europe). Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Final report October 2000 page 151 of 166
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________
10.3 References (for chapter 10)
Assistive Technology for the Elderly and Disabled, Regulations and Policy Options,
final report, European Parliament, STOA, March 1996
Cost 248 The Future European Telecommunications User, Final Report November
1997
Design for All and ICT Business Practice: Recommendations - Policies for better
accessibility of ICT products and services, December 1998, TNO Institute for
Strategy, Technology and Policy, NL
Go for it! A Manual for Users of Assistive Technology, 1999, EUSTAT project, TAP
D&E
Gerontechnology Project results, NL Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of
Health, Welfare & Sport, Ministry of Housing, Urban Planning and Environment &
KITTZ (Kwaliteitsinstituut voor Toegepaste
ThuisZorgvernieuwing) March 1999.
Japan and International Society in the Age of Information Revolution, The Japan
Forum on International Relations, August 1998.
The Future of Computing, Michael L Dertouzos, Director, Massachusettes Institute
of Technology, Laboratory for Computer Science, Scientific American, August
1999
Final report October 2000 page 152 of 166
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________
11 Annex: Tele-workshop
11.1 Methodology & Participants
The preliminary draft of this report was reviewed and discussed by a group of
experts. The review took the form of a mixture of written reviews and a small
telephone workshop in September 2000.
11 experts initially agreed to take part of the review process. Three of them had to
withdraw because of time constraints or other personal reasons. With six of the
reviewers a telephone workshop was held. The two others gave their comments by
mail.
The procedure was that all reviewers were asked to write comments and remarks
on the completed draft report. The reviewers were asked to pay special attention to
the recommendations of the report. The comments from the reviewers were
circulated to the participants of the telephone workshop and used as the basis for
a telephone discussion.
The reviewers were:
Mr. Jan Ekberg, Stakes, Finland
Prof Jan Ekberg has a more than 30 years background in the telecommunications
and disability research field. He has been chairman of big research projects like
COST219 bis " Telecommunications: Access for disabled people and elderly" and
INCLUDE "Inclusion of disabled and elderly people in telematics".
Mr. Rob van Geel, Kompagne, The Netherlands
Kompagne is a Dutch firm specialised in communication systems for persons with
disabilities. Dr. Van Geel has an extensive experience in rehabilitation engineering
with particular emphasis on communication systems. Expertise in phonetics,
rehabilitation engineering, augmentative and alternative communication, Co-
founder of ISAAC-NF.
Mr. Roland Pouilli, Solival Vlaanderen vz., Belgium
Mr. Pouilli is head of Solival VZW, a non-profit organization founded in 1973 by the
Alliance of Christian Mutualities, the Yellow and White Cross, Caritas Catholica
and the Catholic Association for the disabled. He co-ordinates a network of
technical equipment centres, a network of about 40 home care shops and four
Social alarm centres in Belgium (Flanders).
Mr. Jim Tobias, Inclusive Technologies, USA
Mr. Tobias is an industrial designer who has worked in accessible technology for
more than 25 years. He began at Berkeley‟s Center for Independent Living, and
has worked at special schools, hospitals, and government agencies. He spent 10
years at Bell Labs and Bellcore helping to make new telephone systems more
accessible. Jim now leads his own firm, Inclusive Technologies, based in New
Jersey, USA, providing consultancy for mainstream companies and research
centers.
Mr. Cees Zeelenberg, TNO Prevention and Healthcare, The Netherlands
Dr. Zeelenberg, and a colleague, Dr. J.A.M. van Boxtel, supported the review. Dr.
Zeelenberg is heading the division Technology in Healthcare. His expertise
focuses on Medical Informatics Research and Applications. Dr. Van Boxtel's
expertise is in Constructive Technology Assessment.
Final report October 2000 page 153 of 166
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Mrs. Sheri Trewin, IBM, Accessibility Research, Watson Center, USA.
Mrs Trewin acted on behalf of Mr. Paul Lammers, Public Affairs Manager R & D at
IBM (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Dr. Trewin has been a research fellow at the
University of Edinburgh, Scotland and is currently with the Accessibility Research
Group of the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in New York, USA. She has
extensive practical experience in teaching people with disabilities to use
computers, and her current work addresses personalisation of technology.
Mr. Ivor Ambrose, CEC, Belgium, Mr Manuel Monteiro, CEC, Belgium
Both Mr. Monteiro and Mr. Ambrose (CEC) acted mainly as listeners in the tele-
workshop, but did not refrain from putting questions to the other participants. They
provided the project group with a number of written comments as well.
Two project group members also participated in the telephone meeting: Mr. Simon
Price and Mr. Mathijs Soede who chaired the meeting, while the remaining project
group members listened in: Mrs. Celia Price, Mr. Frank Vlaskamp, Mrs. Mirella
Partouns, Mrs. Petra Crombag.
11.2 Discussion
Topic 1: Is an EU model for Technology Transfer in AT possible, and what
are the main characteristics of such a model?
This question addresses the way we look at the AT market: is it a market that is
quite different from other markets, and if so, what makes AT specific?
From a USA perspective the Technology Transfer Model in AT can be described
as having two parts:
The technology transfer to AT companies
The technology transfer to mainstream companies.
The experience in the USA is that AT companies listen carefully to the agencies
that both fund R&D projects and are involved in bringing products to the end-user.
Technology Transfer in this area is successful. Some new AT companies get start-
up capital from governmental agencies.
Technology Transfer to mainstream companies is weak, there are only a handful
of positive exceptions during the last few years. Development projects aimed at
implementing AT in mainstream technology proved to be a waste of money.
Large companies are more effectively driven by legal regulations (accessibility).
The European pre-competitive R&D projects in assistive technology do not very
often lead to marketable products and services. In comparison with the USA,
Europe has the disadvantage of having many different languages, which makes
co-operation difficult for small companies. On the other hand, large mainstream
companies are afraid to get a negative public image when they manufacture
products which are accessible for disabled and elderly. The feeling is that young
and able people will not buy these products.
The question is whether a particular EU model for Technology Transfer in AT is
required.
Technology Transfer should be part of the exploitation plan of every EU research
project. Many EU projects are working parallel on AT solutions, sometimes they
have different technologies for the same problem. There is not much co-ordination
between EU projects. There is not a consistent approach towards using AT
approaches in mainstream products.
Technology Transfer should be carried out by a central organisation, which has
links to (associations of) end-users. This will improve the exploitation of project
results.
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In the USA there is much more reliance on legislation and regulation. Agencies
which fund R&D projects require that user involvement is part of the project. The
research question is: how will you help consumers with disabilities? In many R&D
projects on Assistive Technology research is carried out by designers who are
disabled themselves. They have much more awareness with respect to problems
experienced by people with disabilities.
The report recommends that the EU should establish a brokerage mechanism for
Technology Transfer. A brokerage organisation looks for technology to be applied
in new settings. It is still a question whether national and international Technology
Transfer models would be applicable in the European context. Brokerage,
however, will be difficult because project partners will have a claim on intellectual
property rights. In EU RTD project contracts there is already a stipulation that the
EU may use a project result for brokerage, if the project partners are not exploiting
the project result themselves within a certain time limit. This may be very
unattractive for mainstream companies, which don‟t like to put all their expertise
“on the stage”.
Although emphasis on technology transfer and projects with direct application in
the field is required, there should also be room for fundamental research, without
immediate application in the field. Fundamental research may be very applicable in
the long run.
It proves to be difficult to develop a strategy for Technology Transfer which sets
targets that will have an impact.
The mainstream developments in mobile communications (WAP, UMTS,
localisation, etc.) will have a great impact on the possibilities for Assistive
Technology. However, the performance of mainstream companies in making
acceptable and compatible products is still very weak. AT researchers are not
successful in promoting Assistive Technology.
The approach towards mainstream industry should be: We have millions of people
who cannot use your mainstream product without difficulty, because they have a
disability (hearing disabilities, visual disabilities, lack of dexterity, cognitive
problems, etc.). A market research approach is needed, aimed at including these
groups.
From a social point of view, attention should be paid to those groups who have
absolutely no access to equipment (such as the deaf-blind, or even people with a
mild visual impairment who cannot read a screen). These groups are not large
from a marketing perspective, and for these smaller groups special adaptations
should be made. Social market research should be aimed at investigating user
needs. Mainstream companies are now aimed at selling large quantities of
products, they are not user needs driven.
Speech technology is very promising for Assistive Technology. It is a technology
that has become very successful in the mainstream area. Large companies such
as IBM and Microsoft are involved in product development. Screens are becoming
“readable” by transforming the content of a screen to speech. Speech recognition
technology enables users to operate a computer or telephone without a keyboard.
Sensor technologies are developing rapidly and are expected to have great impact
on Assistive Technology. Some examples: position sensors, fall sensors, bodily
parameter sensors, alert devices. Orthopaedics is an area with lots of possible
applications (for instance pressure sensors, force sensors, movement sensors,
etc.).
The Bluetooth open standard that is being introduced now can support the
connection between Assistive Technology devices and mainstream devices. It
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allows remote control of devices in the environment. For people with disabilities
only the remote control device should be adapted.
Mainstream devices, however, cannot solve every accessibility problem.
Therefore, there should be interoperation standards for links between specialised
Assistive Technology devices and mainstream technology. Standards for software
and hardware are still lacking. It is frustrating that Assistive Technology companies
have to wait for updates of mainstream software until the public market release
date.
Topic 2: Should more effort and budget be put in R&D on service delivery
and in assessing the usage of technology, including Universal Access
and/or Design for All?
In Europe there are different service delivery mechanisms in the member states.
Developers do not know about universal design. They should be provided with
tools that allow incorporation of universal access in their designs, without having to
be an expert in Assistive Technology. These tools can be software, as is the case
in software tools for accessible web design.
There are also guidelines like the USERFIT book , which is a practical handbook
for user-centred design. This book has been written during the TIDE initiative. The
question is whether this book is specific enough. General handbooks are not
enough, there should be brochures aimed at special areas (such as web-design).
R&D developers should receive just what they need. The European Commission
puts effort in promoting and publishing about Design for All, making guidelines and
tools available to developers.
Cost is a limiting factor in the realisation of Universal Access. How far should we
go with the claim that technology should be accessible? If these problems are not
clarified, universal access is not taken up by mainstream industry. Furthermore, it
is not only information that is lacking, but also an attitude change towards
awareness of accessibility problems should take place.
The INCLUDE project aims at considering the needs of disabled and elderly
people at the early stages of any product or service development. In that case the
inclusion of special features often results in minimal or no additional cost.
It is not certain whether legislation is the way to go in the European environment.
In the USA there is a dividing line between the responsibilities that should be taken
by mainstream industry, and the responsibilities that should be taken by Assistive
Technology industry. Whatever can be done without much difficulty or cost (say
1% of total development cost) is the responsibility of the mainstream industry
(Telecommunications Act in USA). However, a study on the way user needs were
addressed by mainstream companies in the USA proved that most companies
were not very effective in doing this. IBM may be one of the few good examples of
what is possible. Most companies do it the easy way and aim at the top 80% of the
market, not taking care of the needs of people with disabilities and limited financial
resources.
A central organisation is needed, which develops expertise on disability and
information technology, and writes training material and brochures customised for
different groups of developers, service providers and care professionals.
Topic 3: For what type of activity should the EC make budget available and
how should initiatives be funded?
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The EC has now rather strict research agendas in the R&D programmes. There
should be more open work plans that allow people to come up with good ideas,
even when these ideas do not promise an immediate market application.
Otherwise the doors to the future may be closed. In the USA such research
initiatives are called “field initiated research”. Some research programmes have
some room for research outside the fixed agenda.
Basic research and fundamental research should be balanced. In the TIDE project
programme, however, the fundamental research was not very successful, so there
are some doubts about the effectiveness of fundamental research. On the other
hand, there are examples of fundamental research leading to very successful
products after 10 years (as was the case in the ASHORED project).
Balance can also be accomplished by synchronising projects: carry out a project
with a limited goal which is close to implementation together with a project with a
more fundamental approach and a longer time scale. The fundamental project will
then have the opportunity to field-test fundamental findings in the field.
The EC has used the mechanism of clustering projects that have things in
common. Project consortia can propose to cluster projects.
The EC should stimulate emerging Assistive Technologies with take up actions,
aimed at shortening the deployment time. User organisations and mainstream
companies should be involved in R&D projects, because the proposed products
should be an answer to existing needs and technologically feasible. The
impression is that R&D on medical devices in Europe is better organised than R&D
on Assistive Technology.
Final statements
The discussion members had read the report with great interest. Some
suggestions for the final version were made. Not much has been said about
globalisation. For small Assistive Technology companies it is difficult to market
their product on a global market. Differences in language, regulations, and
particularly specific user needs are difficult to address. The report indicates that
there are many possibilities in Assistive Technology in the future.
The report will be publicised on the EC website. In the eEurope initiative there is a
discussion group on Assistive Technology with more than 100 members. This
report will be very welcome to promote discussion among these and other
members of the AT community. The report will be a good reference for the
th
development of the EC 6 framework research programme.
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www.gallup.com/poll/indicators/indPuter_Net.asp
79
www.gallup.com/poll/indicators/indreligion.asp
80
www.as.wvu.edu/coll03/relst/are/sochange.htm
81
www.econop.org/pflbrief.htm
82
www.portraitofamerica.com/html/poll-818.html
83
janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/overview.htm
84
www.access-board.gov/bfdg/adaag.htm
85
www.archimedes.stanford.edu/intro97.html
86
http;//www.disabilitystatisticscenter.pub.taf?_UserReference
Final report October 2000 page 160 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
=E14ED0105DDFD51BBCA08CA3&_function=search&recid=813/04/00
87
http;//www.disabilitystatisticscenter.pub.taf
88
Office of Technology Transfer, Penn State College of Medicine, USA , 1999.
www.collmed.psu.edu/ott/process/ttsteps.htm
89
Federal Laboratory Consortium, USA , 1999. www.nal.usda.gov/ttic/faq/whatis.htm
90
Stanford, USA, 1999 guide.stanford.edu/Ttran/ttg/section02.html
91
Crombag-Röben, P.A.M.E., Vuijk, R.D., The process of technology transfer in the RT market,
CEC-CORE TP 213 project, deliverable #16, 1995, iRv, Hoensbroek NL.
92
Weisgerber, R.A., Armstrong, T.R. Facilitating the transfer of Rehabilitation Technology,
American Institutes for Research, Palo Alto, CA, 1989.
guide.stanford.edu/Ttran/Air/abstract.html
93
C. Stephanidis, N. Vernardakis, D. Akoumianakis, Aspects of demand in the rehabilitation
technology market in Europe, technical report 109, 1993, ICS-FORTH, Crete, Greece
94
Heart Study - Line B (December, 1993), B.1 report 2: Existing pan-European links in
rehabilitation technology and assessment, the Swedish Handicap Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
95
Heart Study - Line F (March, 1994), F.3 report 2: Assessment of the potential technology
synergies and technology transfer in rehabilitation technology, the Swedish Handicap Institute,
Stockholm, Sweden
96
TERTZ/NL
97
Lane, J.P. A model of Technology Transfer for Industrial competitiveness, in Assistive
Technology on the Threshold of the new Millenium, AAATE proceedings, C. Bühler and H.
Knops (eds.), 1999, IOS Press, 1999. wings.buffalo.edu/ot/cat/t2rerc/overview.html
98
www.tmc.tulane.edu/techdev/Bayh.html
99
www.wthf.com/Articles/a-tech.htm
100
www.nal.usda.gov/ttic/guide.htm
101
www.house.gov/science/brand_9-25.html
102
cosmos.ot.buffalo.edu/t2rerc/history.html
103
cosmos.ot.buffalo.edu/aztech/aboutaztech.htm
104
www.resna.org/resna/resna2k/index.html
105
www.fernuni-hagen.de/FTB/aaate/infoday.htm
106
European Commission: Advancing the Information Society: 101 Telematics Success Stories,
1999.
107
www.cordis.lu/itt/itt-en/98-3/ip-news.htm, May 1998.
108
www.esst.uio.no/ESST/ESST/whatisESST.html
109
www.isi.fhg.de/e_about.htm (1997 figures)
110
www.noc.org.uk/SerARef/MMC/FAST/FastInro.htm
111
www.iwt.be
112
www.minez.nl
113
www.minocw.nl
114
www.minvws.nl
115
www.nwo.nl
116
www.zon.nl
117
www.senter.nl
118
www.hi.se/it/itkatalog/itenglish.shtm
119
www.senter.nl/
120
www.nutek.se
121
www.cordis.lu/irc/home.html
122
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
123
ENABL: www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/enabl. VOICE: voice.jrc.it/.
124
Beulen K, Ortmanns S, Welling L, Overmann J, Ney H. Pronunciation variants in the RWTH
large vocabulary speech recognizer. lands.let5.kun.nl/pron-var/
125
Mosshammer, A. & Houtepen, E. I&I Leve de smart card, nu nog even de randvoorwaarden,
1995, INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
126
Gill J. New European Standards, on the Man-Machine Interface for Cards Systems, 1999, Royal
National Institute for the Blind on behalf of Include.
127
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
128
VR World Congress. inf2.pira.co.uk/agenda12.htm
129
www.infowin.org/ACTS/ANALYSYS/CONCERTATION/MULTIMEDIA/ECPUBL/ mcmec97f.htm
130
examples: www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/resources/conf/old-conf.html (conferences that have already
occurred), and: www.crg.cs.nott.ac.uk/resources/conf/ (conference information)
Final report October 2000 page 161 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
131
www.cyber.rdg.ac.uk/P.Sharkey/WWW/ecdvrat/.
132
Engelen, J. & Evenpoel, F. Producing web pages that everyone can access, 1999, Cost 219bis.
133
www.ilsmh-ea.be/aldict.
134
www.w3.org/WAI.
135
Europa.eu.int/comm/information_society/eeurope/actionplan/actline2c_en.htm.
136
Jan van Engelen and Filip Evenpoel (Eds). 1999. Producing web pages that everyone can
access. A cost 219bis guidebook. www.stakes.fi/cost219/webdesign.
137
Abledata: www.abledata.com, and Assistive Technology, Inc. : www.assistivetech.com/prod-
index.htm.
138
Klein&Melgert: www.kmdev.com.
139
www.socialnet.lu/visioboard/
140
www.coast-resources.com/eacces.htm.
141
home.t-online.de/home/brailletec/print.htm.
142
Duchateau. S et all. The Accessibility of the World Wide Web for visually impaired people, In:
Bühler, C. & Knops, H. Assistive Technology on the Threshold of the New Millennium, 1999,
pp34-38. IOS Press: Amsterdam.
143
WAI, Web Accessibility Initiative: www.w3.org/wai.
144
Hellström, G, Working towards International Standards for text telephony, Cost 219.
145
www.xs4all.nl/~ruvis/.
146
www.fix.nl.caption/default.html.
147
Partouns, M. et al. Specifications of a service for relaying telephonic conversations for hearing
impaired people. In: Bühler, C. & Knops, H. 1999. Assistive Technology on the Threshold of the
New Millennium, p. 111-115. IOS Press: Amsterdam. See also: www.fix.nl.caption/default.html.
148
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
149
Brodin, J., Hellström, G., Lindström, J., Martin, M., Pereira, L. New ways of using video
telephony, 1999, Cost 219 bis Guidebook.
150
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
151
www.benefon.com/products/rescuephone/more/index.html.
152
Abledata: www.abledata.com.
153
www-imt.unine.ch/liscom.
154 th
European Commission. Synopsis of projects January 1999. 4 R&D Framewrok Programme
(1994-1998). Telematics Applications Programme. Telematics for the Integration of the
Disabled and Elderly. European Commission, DGXIII: Information Society:
Telecommunications, Markets, technologies- Innovation and Exploitation of Research, pages
98-99.
155
: Klein&Melgert: www.kmdev.com.
156
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
157
home1.swipnet.se/~w-26961/awk.htm.
158
Abledata: www.abledata.com.
159
www.promi.es/htmlpages/web/isaeus.htm.
160
FOCUS project.
161
:www.tno.nl/M3S.
162
INCLUDE Telematics project 1109.
163
www.swt.iao.fhg.de/home.
164 th
European Commission. Synopsis of projects January 1999. 4 R&D Framewrok Programme
(1994-1998). Telematics Applications Programme. Telematics for the Integration of the
Disabled and Elderly. European Commission, DGXIII: Information Society:
Telecommunications, Markets, technologies- Innovation and Exploitation of Research, pages
50-51.
165
labnet.cnuce.cnr.it/mosaic.
166
Verburg G, ea. Manus: the evolution of an assistive technology. Technology and Disability,
Vol5.No2, September 1996, pp.217-228.
167
Topping M. Handy1, a robotic aid to independance for severely disabled people. Technology
and Disability, Vol5.No2, September 1996, pp. 233-235.
168
Buhler C,.Robotics for Rehabilitation. Factors for Success from a European Perspective. FTB
(1997). www.asel.udel.edu/robotics/newsletter/sprsum97/europe.html.
169
eMarketer “Global Report”, July1999.
170
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The European Internet Report, 1999.
171
1998 Ten-Year Forecast, Institute for the Future, USA.
172
On-line, The Guardian newspaper, UK, June 1999.
Final report October 2000 page 162 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
173
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency,
June 1997.
174
OnLine, The Guardian newspaper, UK, November 1999
175
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency, June
1997
176
European Community Research & Development Information Service (Cordis) Focus no. 145,
March 2000
177 rd
E-Finance page of The Guardian newspaper, UK, 3 December 1999
178
The Emerging Digital Economy II, US Department of Commerce, June 1999
179
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency. The
Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025, ,
June1997.
180
www.bell-labs.com
181
1998 Ten-Year Forecast, Institute for the Future, USA
182
Dertouzos M, Director of the Laboratory for Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Scientific American, August 1999.
183
Advanced Air Interfaces, Alcatel Research Center, 1999. www-europe.alcatel.com
184
Researchers Transmit a Trillion Bits of Error-free Over 250 Miles in a Second. www.bell-
labs.com, February 1999
185
Outcomes of national Foresight studies, reported in The Futures Project, Technology Map,
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, on behalf of the EC JRC, December 1999
186
European Commission‟s green paper on a common approach in the field of mobile and
personal communications in the European Community, 1994
187
Research and Development in Ericsson, June 1999. www.ericsson.se
188
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency,
June 1997
189 th
Focus magazine, DE, (Computer News section), 27 March 2000
190
Working on Yet-to-be Products and Technologies, Bell Labs (Lucent Technologies), USA, 1998.
191 nd rd
Press release, 2 December 1999, reported in UK national newspapers 3 December 1999
192
Development of Satellite and Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting Systems and Services and
Implications for Education and Training, Telematics Study on
www2.echo.lu/telematics/education
193
www.webtc.net/
194
Development of Satellite and Terrestrial Digital Broadcasting Systems and Services and
Implications for Education and Training, Telematics Study on
www2.echo.lu/telematics/education
195
Personal Video Recorders will bring fundamental changes to television networks, Forrester
Research press release, March 1999.
196 rd
Erskine P, Managing Director, BTCellnet, UK, reported in The Guardian, 3 December 1999.
197
www.bluetooth.com
198
A Race Through Central Park, with all the comforts of Holmdel, Bell Labs.www.bell-labs.com
199
Bell G, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Corp‟s Bay Area Research Center
200
Dertouzos ML.The Future of Computing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Scientific
American, August 1999.
201
Katashit Nagao, Yasurha Katsuna, Agent Augmented Community: Human-to-Human and
Human-to-Environment Interactions Enhanced by Situation-Aware Personalized Mobile Agents,
1998
202
Bell Labs Researchers Develop a Natural Interface for Next Generation Phones, Bell Labs
www.bell-labs.com
203
RNIB: Royal National Institute for the Blind, London
204
COST-219-bis: Telecommunications: access for disabled and elderly people
205
Annual Discover Magazine Awards for Technical Innovation, New York, USA, June 1999
206
The Guardian newspaper, UK, September 1999
207
www.ist.cc
208
Humphreys C, Professor of Materials Science at Cambridge University, UK
209
Scientific American, Exploring Intelligence, Winter 1998
210
1997 Ten-Year Forecast, Institute for the Future, USA
Final report October 2000 page 163 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
211
Chehab N, Enzing CM (STB-TNO); sensor en Microsysteem technologie. Sterkte zwakte
analyse. NLRO-Den Haag, The Netherlands 98/32
212
Franck M. Fly-by-Wire Cars, EC RTD Info 23, September 1999
213
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency,
June 1997
214
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California for the US Dept. of Energy,
www.llnl.gov
215
European IST Prize Winners Archive, www.it-prize.org
216
www.tracker.fi
217
The REACT project (EU-Funded) uses scripts (showing particular environments where-in a
communication takes place) for fast efficient communication. The efficiency of these scripts will
be enhanced if automatically the particular environment is sensed and sets the type of the
scripts.
The ELDIS project (EURIMUS programme) aims for a totally different type of tracing and tracking
technology. The project includes also microsensors for physiological variables.
218
Fokker Control Systems; Fokker Haptic Control System. Schiphol, Amsterdam, 2000
219
The Guardian newspaper, UK. Small is Beautiful, November 1999.
220
Moshen Shahinpoor; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
221
The Futures Project, Technology Map, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, on behalf
of the EC JRC December 1999
222
Asby MF. Diagram of historical and projected development of materials categories, Cambridge
University, UK
223
The Futures Project, Technology Map, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, on behalf
of the EC JRC December 1999
224
Surveillance Mobile Robot, Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements,
Warazawa, Poland.
225
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, USA. www.sandai.gov/isrc/home.html
226
www.wired.com, from Reuters report August 1998
227
Universität Bonn, Institut f ű r I nformatick III. www.cs.uni-
bonn.de/~rhino/tourguide/html/partners.html
228
The Cog Shop, MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Cambridge, MA, USA,
www.ai.mit.edu/projects/cog/cog_shop_research.html
229
www.robocup.org/games/321.html
230
Kwee HH. Spartacus Project, Paris, France, 1975.
231
MANUS, a robotic manipulator for persons with severe handicaps, iRv, 1999, The Netherlands.
232
Moravec H. Carnegie Mellon University, USA in Scientific American Sept 1999
233
Engineering Research Center in Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, USA,
reported in Scientific American November 1998
234
Demeter Project, NASA Space Telerobotics Program,
ranier.oact.hq.nasa.gov/telerobotics_page/projects.html
235
The Futures Project, Technology Map, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, on behalf
of the EC JRC December 1999
236
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency,
June 1997
237
Scientific American, Exploring Intelligence, Winter 1998
238
The Futures Project, Technology Map, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, on behalf
of the EC JRC, December 1999
239
The Sixth Technology Forecast Survey, Future Technology in Japan Toward the Year 2025,
National Institute of Science and Technology Policy and Science and Technology Agency,
June 1997
240
Analysis of national Foresight studies, reported in The Futures Project, Technology Map,
Institute of Prospective Studies, on behalf of the EC JRC, December 1999.
241
The TEST project report. Standardization in Wheelchair tie-down and fixation systems, iRv
1998, The Netherlands.
242
Crombag-Röben P, Soede M. National Technology Transfer Center.
www.nttc.edu/technews/tt.html, 9 May 2000
Final report October 2000 page 164 of 166
Study on Technology Trends and Future Perspectives within Assistive Technology
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