The sight of handicap accessible accommodations to public building entrances, sidewalks, parking ramps and telephones are usual sights to most people today. It may be somewhat surprising to realize, however, that many of these commonplace adaptations did not exist 12-13 years ago.

On July 26, 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Its purpose is to provide handicapped individuals with access to employment, housing, public accommodations, education, transportation, communication, recreation, health services and voting. This law served as a major impetus for a wide range of engineering innovations that address the accessibility needs of millions of Americans.

Here at UW-Madison, the issue of handicap accessibility is gaining awareness in the engineering community. Two programs, Trace and the University of Wisconsin-Center for Rehabilitation Engineering and Accessibility Technology (UW-CREATe), have been formed with the mission of reengineering designs and processes to improve the lifestyles of the disabled.

The Trace Center was founded in 1971 by a group of undergraduate students including the present director of the program, Dr. Gregg Vanderheiden. The mission of Trace is "to advance the ability of elders and people with disabilities to live independently and productively using technology." Since its inception, Trace continues to thrive. Kate Vanderheiden, program manager of the organization, says that one of the goals of Trace is to develop new accessibility products that are "marketable and profitable."

According to an article written in 1990 by Dr. Vanderheiden, there were more than 30 million people with disabilities in the United States. As the population ages, this number is growing rapidly. Until recently, only a small percentage of engineering teams took this statistic into account during the design process. Instead of endeavoring to make new products as accessible as possible, add-ons were designed later to meet accessibility standards. Consequently, engineers are taking measures to remedy the situation by moving accessibility to the forefront at the point of product conception.

Over the years, Trace has pioneered technology in many fields, including augmentative communication, computer access, and telecommunications. In fact, Trace was one of the first organizations nationwide to work in the field of augmentative communication. The organization developed a device to help a child with cerebral palsy communicate more effectively.

Trace has also led the way in developing many accessibility features used today in mainstream computer operating systems (OS) such as Windows and Apple. These features are included on every operating system package sold, and are designed so that if a user does not need them, they are not noticeable. One of the most prominent of these OS features is known as "StickyKeys," which permit the computer user to press each key separately when performing a multiple key operation. However, if any two keys are simultaneously pressed, the function disables itself. This innovation allows individuals with motor impairments to use keyboards effectively.

Today, Trace is involved with many other projects, including an accessible cell phone design, a PDA-type remote control that will be able to control almost all electronic devices within the home and around the community, a new voting system using a tablet interface to simplify and increase the accuracy in voting and new accessible ATM machines. With all of these projects, Trace is interested not only in coming up with new technology, but with developing new standards to be implemented industry-wide. Vanderheiden says, "We keep pushing the envelope, showing industry how to do better in terms of accessibility."

Similarly, the original mission of UW-CREATe was "to help children and adults with disabilities improve their quality of life while regaining independence, control and productivity." The organization was founded in 2000 by UW-Madison mechanical engineering professors Nicola Ferrier, Frank Fronczak, Jay Martin and the late Terry Richard. UW-CREATe continues to grow and participate in a wide variety of projects, including the addition of mechanical and biomedical engineering professors Heidi-Lynn Ploeg and Darryl Thelen to extend the program to include muscle biomechanics and orthopedic implant design.Similarly, the original mission of UW-CREATe was "to help children and adults with disabilities improve their quality of life while regaining independence, control and productivity." The organization was founded in 2000 by UW-Madison mechanical engineering professors Nicola Ferrier, Frank Fronczak, Jay Martin and the late Terry Richard. UW-CREATe continues to grow and participate in a wide variety of projects, including the addition of mechanical and biomedical engineering professors Heidi-Lynn Ploeg and Darryl Thelen to extend the program to include muscle biomechanics and orthopedic implant design.

One project that the center is involved in is a new design to get wheelchair-bound customers on and off of commercial airlines. "This is the single biggest liability problem that airlines have today," says Dr. Martin, who is working with several sections of the mechanical engineering senior design class.

The current design used by airlines consists simply of a chair designed to fit in the aisle of the plane. It involves a risky transfer of the customer from chair to seat. This design has caused numerous lawsuits for airlines across the country. The new design implements a harness system that fits around the torso and waist of the customer. It eliminates the need to "muscle" the passenger back and forth between seats. According to Dr. Martin, multiple airlines are expressing interest in this new design, and UW-CREATe is negotiating with several different corporations about partnerships.

Another new UW-CREATe project could provide a possible solution for individuals with balance problems, especially people with poor vision or blindness. Developed by Professor Paul Bachy-Rita, Dr. Kurt Kaczmarek and Mitch Tyler, the idea is to utilize a "tongue display unit," a device consisting of 144 electrodes placed on the user's tongue.

An attitude sensor is fitted to the user's head. This feeds tilt data to the "display" on the tongue, letting the individual know if they are off-balance. In many of the trials conducted, the user's balance improved significantly. Studies show that if the device is worn for longer periods of time, the effect is a "retraining," so that the individual's balance is improved even when not using the device.

The UW-CREATe team has big plans for their future, including the possibility of a complete overhaul of the powered wheelchair. Today's electric wheelchairs weigh as much as four-hundred pounds. If they break down, they are very difficult to maneuver. This problem is due mostly to battery weight, so the solution will utilize some sort of gas-electric hybrid motor. It will include many state-of-the-art components, including two-wheeled movement and traveling up and down stairs.

Martin sees the work of UW-CREATe as an exciting branch of his field. "This is the human side of mechanical engineering. We are applying ME design to humans as biomechanical systems."

Both Trace and UW-CREATe are actively working to enhance the lifestyles of the elderly and disabled. However, there is still vast potential for more to be done in this field. Each organization has plans for future expansion and ambitious dreams for future work. Says Martin, "It is fun and quite amazing for us to see how much our engineering skills can add to this field."