uch has been written here about IBM's concept van, the Network Vehicle, mainly because it is playful and futuristic. It has a Web browser in the dash, a satellite antennae in the roof, and it even talks back to the driver, reading email or giving direct ions. But heartache and love are sometimes the source of good ideas, and that was the case with this snazzy van. IBM's Richard Freeman built the van with his son Daniel in mind.

Daniel Freeman is 10. He suffers from hypotonia, a crippling neurological disease that has stripped his muscles of any strength so that he cannot sit upright without help, or drive a car, or punch up a different station on the radio. But Daniel is very in telligent. His parents want him to be able to go places and do things, and to pursue his dreams. Back home in Trumbull, Conn., the Freeman family is the main reason why the local school system has an "inclusive" policy now, which means that Daniel attends regular classes with the other children of his age and achievement. His mother made sure of that.

Meanwhile, his father, a senior executive at IBM, helped lead the 84-day effort that produced the Network Vehicle. With Netscape, Sun, Delphi and others pitching in, Freeman brought together such existing technologies as voice recognition software, global positioning satellite links, a liquid crystal heads-up display for the windshield (first developed for military pilots), and a Web browser with steering wheel-mounted controls. "The modifications for the speech engine came from a guy in Prague," says Fre eman. "The command and control functions were from two guys in Raleigh," he continues, ticking off every person who contributed a key idea.

Freeman contributed the passion. He speaks quietly, thoughtfully: "I want my son and other people with physical disabilities to be able to hop in the car and go somewhere when they want to, to pursue a career or do what they can do, what they want to do." And then he's tinkering again, speaking excitedly: "Next, I want to add gesture control, something the military developed for jet pilots so that they control the direction of things simply by moving their heads. There are all kinds of possibilities." Ind eed.

-- Janice Castro