The Future Is Here.

Will the real "new millennium" please come forward? No matter what you've heard in the past, 2001 is the real beginning of the new millennium. And since this column deals with management issues and innovative strategies to assist organizations and those who lead them, it seems fitting to begin this new millennium by addressing some technologic innovations that are just around the corner. They will undoubtedly change the way we live, including the way we do business. One manifestation of this is that products developed for the general public are being advanced by researchers to adapt for use by persons who are disabled and/or require assistance.

For example, scientists and engineers are in the process of adapting the eye-tracking device that astronauts use to dock orbiting spaceships into a tool for persons who want to use computers but are unable to use their hands to type. By employing infrared beams and a small video camera, users can direct the information system through their eye position and command it by holding their gaze. Not only would this create access to computer use for people with motor deficits, speech or hearing problems, but this mechanism could be used to control other electronic and household appliances.

Mechanical engineers in Michigan are perfecting an apparatus for people with vision problems. The so-called "GuideCane," currently weighing less than 10 pounds, has a steerable foot that is motorized with ultrasonic sensors. The user employs a joystick to direct the cane where to go, while the sensor enables the cane to act similarly to a guide dog in helping the user to avoid obstacles.

Another example of futuristic assistive technology is being developed through a joint effort involving researchers in the United States, Italy and Germany. "MAid" (which stands for "Mobility Aide") is a "smart" wheelchair designed both for narrow area navigation (NAN), such as entering and exiting restrooms, and wide area navigation (WAN) of such rapidly changing, often crowded environments as shopping centers, convention halls or transportation terminals. Its goal is for people with disabilities to be transported with a certain amount of autonomy and independence. Recently, I spoke with Dr. Paolo Fiorini, one of the researchers, to find out more about MAid.

Hyatt: Could you describe where the technology for MAid comes from and how it works?

Dr. Fiorini: The technology comes from many different sources, including the work of several researchers and my own PhD dissertation in which I studied algorithms for avoiding moving obstacles.

Using an algorithm developed for air traffic controllers, the chair constantly processes feedback from a ring of sonar sensors and lasers to calculate the position and velocity of the objects around it. A map of the environment is made every second, directing the chair to go where there are no anticipated obstacles, and that becomes its path. The wheelchair performs the task after the user enters the direction and speed desired.

Hyatt: How did you test MAid's performance?

Dr. Fiorini: After MAid had successfully passed a number of laboratory experiments, it was time to have a trial run in the real world. In this case the real world was the concourse of a busy central railway station in Ulm, Germany. After talking with the station manager, we decided that the best time to test MAid would be on a Friday at noon when the concourse had the most continuous passenger traffic. Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., there typically are many more people moving about consistently, which made it particularly desirable for our navigation experiments.

We allowed the MAid to cross the concourse in arbitrary directions. MAid effectively navigated through the moderately dense crowds. When the passenger traffic became too dense, MAid occasionally stopped and did what a human operator would have also done in that situation: Simply, it waited until the group of people blocking its way had passed, and then it continued on toward its destination.

This is what distinguishes MAid from other "smart" chairs: It is the only one known to be able to move among obstacles autonomously, such as in a crowded railway station.

Hyatt: How do you envision its wider application?

Dr. Fiorini: Of course, the extensions could be many, provided that we reach a good level of safety. We can also think of automating transportation for people within an institution and then within a community, such as, for example, a retirement village. In the latter case, one would simply instruct the chair to go to the grocery store or to the cleaner or to the residential dining room.

Another application might be for home robotics, such as vacuum cleaners that can perform their tasks autonomously, while simultaneously moving around such barriers as furniture.

We still have some hurdles to surmount, but we hope we are not too far away from a "real" application.

Hyatt: What are your hopes for this project?

Dr. Fiorini: It is very nice to be able to see some ideas become reality and being put to such a good use. Hopefully, I'll get more involved in that when I am in Italy at a university aligned with a large medical institution that manages a suite of hospitals and training/educational centers for disabled persons, who could really benefit from this technology.

This article cannot be concluded without acknowledgment of a recent development known as proteomics, which might well be the be-all and end-all of scientific progress in managing aging. Thanks to this offshoot of the Genome Project, researchers will be able to better understand structural data of proteins and how they exist and change or interact within humans. Understanding proteins could provide clarity to our concepts of disease, as well as the normal function of cells. Researchers can locate regions on proteins that might be receptive to drug therapy by studying the shape of proteins in cells. This could lead to designer drugs that are not only specific to disease, but also specific to each person. Many scientists believe this is the key to providing solutions to many of today's chronic and life-threatening diseases.

Most of us in long-term care will be looking forward to the development of these technologies that will assist patients, residents and those who care for them to function more efficiently and with a greater degree of independence. These advances might provide some relief from the increasing costs of caring for persons who would otherwise be less mobile and, most importantly, go a long way toward restoring personal dignity.

I would like to express my appreciation to those who participated in this article. Ideas that you feel would be helpful to readers should be addressed to Laura Hyatt at [e-mail]. Be sure to include your name, the name of your organization, address and phone number with area code.

Laura Hyatt, MBA, is president of Hyatt Associates and a member of the business faculty at Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, California.