Cost 219ter

Ideas for the future - Discussion

Moderator: Jan Ekberg, STAKES, Finland

Notes taken by Tony Shipley, Phoneability, UK

'Ideas for the Future' - DISCUSSION

The Session Moderator, Mr Jan Ekberg, commented that he was a grandfather talking about the future. Developments continued, capacity increased, radio links improved and a whole new array of innovatory technologies was emerging. Nano-technology, biometrics, machine recognition, intelligent terminals, avatars and the massive growth of micro-electronics - all of it digital - pointed to an exciting and unpredictable future.

TS: How do we make the future compatible with present and past cultural experiences? Without a social and ethical balance, these innovations could be highly divisive.

Jan Ekberg (JE): Yes, it is a matter of balance.

J-I L: Co-operation with the industries developing these technologies is essential. Can we get greater co-operation on a long-term basis? Much mutual benefit could result from this.

JB: A case in point is ambient computing. We may need to say 'enough is enough'. But the forward look process permits the case to be debated in a leisurely way.

Pier Luigi Emiliani (PLE): We do need to talk to users and assess needs before turning to technology - that is the COST219 way. Jan-Ingvar has pointed to mainstream technologies that have been taken up by users. Should we concentrate on current technology or go on looking to innovation? A quick answer might be 'both'.

GV: We have to look for international harmonisation, and regulation could be developed alongside industry. Product enhancements to mainstream devices should make them more acceptable to mainstream users as well as disabled users. We must go for the pragmatic approach - see what works and what does not. Remember that scale economics strongly influences costings. In another area, human intervention (for example, for translation) needs to be supplemented by machines; this topic calls for much more R&D but it has been dropped from the 6th FP.

Thor Nielsen (TN): Note that text relay is available only in 5 or 6 EU countries, and video relay only in one. When looking to the future, remember that this is the base from which we are starting.

J-I L: Regarding Pier Luigi's question, I say the answer is 'both'. Some devices do have to be developed specifically because the technology is not there to answer the need. But even when the technology does exist, it often comes in very slowly - why is this? It is a question which COST219 should seek to answer.

PR: More countries are now introducing relay services, and this is partly as a result of the INCOM report. We need to go on promoting 'Good Practice' examples.

Erland Winterberg (EW): We can refer to the EU's 'Heart' study. There is a big market where there is a national, that is a Government-managed, scheme for Assistive Technology. Also, expectations do change as we move from the theoretical to the practical, where compromises are readily accepted. We can support the idea of research for special areas, but the use and adaptation of mainstream concepts is vital.

TS: Successful products are those that reach the right place at the right time, but the same criterion could be applied to published standards. Too many of them seem to exist in a vacuum, and that risks devaluing the entire process.

End of Session