The Independent LifeStyle Assistant ^TM monitoring system (I.L.S.A.) is a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) sponsored program led by Honeywell Laboratories to develop innovative, high-potential technology for elder homecare application.

• Honeywell, as a leader in the field of home automation and control, is uniquely qualified to address development and implementation of a solution to this pressing human need.

  The I.L.S.A. team has a combined experience of over 100 years in developing systems that serve people. Our expertise ranges from machine learning to interface design and application to sensor development and communication. We have developed: human factors design guidelines for the elderly and people with disabilities; systems such as the Honeywell Home & Away System, for remotely monitoring and controlling lighting, heating, and security in homes; speech applications for thermostats and home security systems; a prototype application that recognizes user intent and can offer support, such as instructions for completing a task.

  The team also includes consultants in the field of gerontology, geriatrics, and home health care to support the program through requirement definition and concept development. Further, they can provide participants for evaluating functionality and user interfaces. Our consultants are representatives of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, Smart Information Flow Technologies (SIFT), Behavioral Informatics, Inc (BII), and United Health Care Evercare program.

  The identification of Minnesota test locations and test subjects was supported by United Health Care and Presbyterian Homes and Services. The Florida-based field test was managed by the University of Florida's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for Successful Aging. Honeywell ACS Labs thanks LifeLine Systems, Inc. for providing emergency personal response coverage for the Florida-based clients.

• NIST's Advanced Technology Program (ATP) bridges the gap between the research lab and the market place, stimulating prosperity through innovation. Through partnerships with the private sector, ATP’s early stage investment is accelerating the development of innovative technologies that promise significant commercial payoffs and widespread benefits for the nation. For 10 years, the ATP has worked to spur the development of path-breaking new technologies by providing cost-shared funding for potentially valuable but high-risk R&D projects.

The most important criterion for awarding a NIST ATP is the project's potential benefit to the nation. In sharing the relatively high development risks of technologies that potentially make a broad range of new commercial opportunities feasible, the ATP fosters projects with a high payoff for the nation as a whole-in addition to a direct return to the innovators. ATPs have made advances in technology possible in many areas, including: medical diagnostics, semiconductor manufacturing, automobiles, telecommunications, information technology, electronics, high-performance composites, and biotechnology. The United States can offer the world’s markets many leading-edge technologies that we wouldn’t have without the ATP.