Only a few years ago, it seemed like science fiction:

• Immense, flat TV screens hanging from your wall.
• Devices to track where your children are at any moment.
• Instant medical reports at home.

"The next ten years will bring us some amazing products that will change our lives forever," says Battelle Technology Intelligence Program Manager Stephen M. Millett, who led the study. " Generally, many of these new products will personalize technology and bring all of us much closer to the information and services we need from day to day."

Battelle's list, a follow-up to last year's forecast of the top basic technologies for the next 10 years, focuses on specific products that will have the greatest impact on life at home and in the office in ten years.

1. Genetaceuticals: Genetics-based medical treatments will cure or mitigate the effects of various human diseases and disorders, including pharmaceutical treatments for osteoporosis, MS, cystic fibrosis, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), and Alzheimer's.

   "Within the next decade, we foresee treatments for MS, ALS, or even AIDS derived from work going on today in genetic research," Millett says. "Watch for a boom over the next ten years in the pharmaceutical industry - primarily from genetic research. This is a golden age for the biological sciences. "

2. Personalized computers: Your personal computer at home and in your office will be replaced by a very powerful "personalized" computer. It will recognize your voice and follow your voice commands, and it will include a variety of security and service tools to personalize the computer for its individual owner.

   "When you turn on your personalized computer," Millett says, "it might automatically show you highlights from your favorite baseball team's game from the night before, show the current stock report on your own portfolio, and ask you if you'd like to order milk or eggs because you haven't bought any in the past week. Then it could go out and do that shopping for you, finding the best prices at all the local grocery stores."

   The personalized computer will be as mobile and versatile as its user, sending and receiving wireless data and accessing information from remote sites.

3. Multi-Fuel automobiles: To obtain maximum efficiency and meet stringent environmental standards, vehicles will use combinations of various fuels, such as reformulated gasoline, electricity, and natural gas. Vehicles may carry more than one fuel type, with an on-board computer that will conduct on-going analyses of travel conditions to calculate fuel mixtures for maximum fuel efficiency and performance.

   "This innovative product is highly dependent upon three other conditions: regulation, energy price levels, and advances in electrical power systems," Millett says.

4. Next generation TV: In 10 years, our television set will be large and flat and will hang on the wall much like a large painting. It will be a digital, high definition model with clarity approaching that of a movie screen.

   This TV will be much more than just an entertainment device - it will also be used as a computer monitor capable of networking with other computers as an interactive, videoconferencing device.

   "Remember the Jetsons cartoon show where they would talk to neighbors on a television screen in their house. Same principle," Millett says. "When that cartoon was drawn, that was as far out as flying your own car to work. Now it's just around the corner."

5. Cyber cash: Electronic money will be used for everything from buying soda in a vending machine to making an international transaction over your computer.

   Pockets will rarely jingle in 10 years as credit-card-sized smart cards begin to replace cash, as well as house and car keys.

6. Home health monitors: These devices will be simple-to-use, non-invasive, and relatively inexpensive for use in monitoring health conditions at home. Many physical functions - liver functions, ovulation, levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, sugar, hormones, water, salt, and potassium - may be monitored as easily as weight is now tracked by bathroom scales.

   "The graying of our population and the increasing costs of medical care will make these products extremely popular," Millett says.

7. Smart maps and tracking devices: Getting "there" will be decidedly easier with the widespread use of global positioning systems - "smart" maps that will show travelers, boaters, and hikers their exact position and direction. "Ultimately, the devices will be modified for use in cars and trucks to detect other objects and avoid collisions," Millett says.

   Global positioning systems also will be used to help prevent crime by tracking the exact location of cars and other valuables. People also will be able to track the exact location of their children and even their pets.

8. Smart materials: New materials for construction and other uses will be able to give off warnings when they detect excessive stress. For instance, materials in bridges or office buildings could change color before conditions become unsafe. Automobile parts could give a similar warning when approaching the point of breakdown.

9. Weight-control and anti-aging products: Though no fountain of youth is on the horizon, new products will make aging a little less traumatic. These new developments may include weight-control drugs that use the body's natural weight-control mechanisims, wrinkle creams that actually work, foods with enhanced nutrients, and an effective cure for baldness.

   Many of these developments will come from genetic research.

   "As the baby boomers move into and past midlife, they're going to create a huge market for products to hold back the hands of time," Millett says. "They want to look good and feel good. At Battelle, we think technology will allow them to look forward to active and comfortable retirements in their 80s."

10. Never-owned products: Major household appliances, such as furnaces, air conditioners, washers, dryers, and water heaters will be leased instead of purchased. "People will buy the functionality without buying the item," Millett said. "Manufacturers or distributors will retain ownership and responsibility for eventual disposal and recycling."

    This trend will be spurred by environmental concerns and regulations, cost, and the increasing speed of technology, which causes products to become obsolete quicker.

    Battelle serves industry and government by developing, commercializing, and managing technology. With a wide range of scientific and technical capabilities, Battelle puts technology to work for clients in 30 countries.

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