The ATIS4all thematic network seeks to facilitate everyone’s access to the most suitable AT or accessibility device and service according to their needs and preferences and contextual characteristics (e.g. ICT solution, environment constraints, user device, language, etc.) by means of an open, collaborative portal offering reliable information on AT products, inclusive solutions and R&D initiatives.
Press Release / IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BRUSSELS, 16 February 2011 – AEGIS project organises its final Workshop and 2nd International Conference entitled “Accessibility Reaching Everywhere” on 28-30 November 2011 in Brussels, bringing together both end-users (people with disabilities) as well as platform and application accessibility developers, representative organisations, the Assistive Technology industry, and policy makers. Since 2008, the AEGIS consortium (comprising companies such as Vodafone Foundation, Research in Motion, Oracle, and research groups from Cambridge University and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, etc.) has been developing an Open Accessibility Framework – comprising open accessibility interfaces, user interface components, developer tools, end-user applications and prototype accessibility solutions for desktops, rich Internet applications and mobile devices.
The workshop on 28 November will focus on the realisations of the AEGIS (Open Accessibility Everywhere: Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards) project and provide attendees the opportunity to try out all outcomes of the project. The demonstrated products offer barrier-free access to desktop, mobile and web applications, are open source based and will be freely available.
The conference on 29-30 November will gather a wide array of experts and users in the area of Assistive Technology to discuss scientific and policy developments in accessible technology; showcase relevant projects and initiatives in the area of assistive technology.
Access to both events will be free, but places will be limited.
This event comes ahead of the European Day of People with Disabilities that is marked by the European Commission via a policy conference in the first week of December each year, in close cooperation with the European Disability Forum (EDF).
Invitations for registration, scientific papers and exhibitors will be issued soon.
Both events take place at the Diamant Conference and Business Centre, Boulevard A. Reyerslaan 80, 1030 Brussels. More information is available under www.aegis-project.eu, or contact Ms. Julie Buttier at julie.buttier@epr.eu.
Mission Statement
AEGIS is an Integrated Project (IP) within the ICT programme of FP7 and aims, through user research and prototype development with current and next-generation ICT, to develop and validate the necessary infrastructure and accessibility frameworks needed for deeply embedding accessibility into the desktop, smart phones and rich Internet applications; with a focus on the needs of users with mild, severe or complex disabilities served via assistive technologies; and to propose these results to the appropriate standards organisations for adoption, as well as to make them available through open source as much as possible.
Cambridge University and the AEGIS project are pleased to announce the release of Dasher v2.2 for the Google Android platform. Dasher is a text entry method based on advanced language modelling techniques, suitable for users including those with motor impairments and/or limited dexterity. This release allows efficient text entry with pointing or finger gestures, requiring less accuracy than onscreen or reduced-size keyboards; via tilt or accelerometer control, requiring no screen contact; or using any number from 1 to 9 buttons (physical, onscreen, or external bluetooth), including information conveyed by the timing of button pushes for users capable of such.
Standard installations allow writing in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish; support for other languages is easily achieved by downloading language definition files from the Dasher website. Dasher for Android is immediately available and may be freely downloaded from the Android Market or from the Dasher website. There is also the mobile Dasher website (with further instructions pertaining to Android).
Odt2braille is a Braille extension to OpenOffice.org Writer and will enable authors to print documents to a Braille embosser and to export documents as Braille files. The Braille output is well-formatted and highly customizable. The odt2daisy extension is a direct outcome of the AEGIS project. More information on the Odt2braille website.
Odt2braille is now also available on the OpenOffice.org extensions site.It should also work in LibreOffice.
Odt2daisy is an OpenOffice.org Writer extension, enabling to export in DAISY 3 format, including support of Mathematical content conforming to the MathML standard. DAISY is an NISO Z39.86 standard for blind, visual impaired, print-disabled, and learning-disabled people. The odt2daisy extension is also a direct outcome of the AEGIS project. More information on the Odt2Daisy website.
Odt2daisy is now also available on the OpenOffice.org extensions site.
Following presentation was given at the 1st International AEGIS conference in Seville, Spain on 7-8 October 2010.
AEGIS project just launched its project video:
