The AEGIS project is a European Commission FP7 project with 20 partners from 10 countries that aims to mainstream accessibility in ICT development environments through open source solutions. It hopes to achieve third generation embedded accessibility by developing prototypes for rich internet applications, desktop software, and mobile devices that are accessible for blind, motor impaired, cognitively impaired, hearing impaired, and speech impaired users. The project involves end users, experts, and developers and will evaluate prototypes in 2011 before releasing demonstrators and final prototypes in 2012.

1. AEGIS
Open Accessibility Everywhere
Groundwork, Infrastructure, Standards
David Colven
ACE Centre, Oxford

2. AEGIS – What is it?
Mainstreaming accessibility through open source
• A European Commission FP7 ICT Project
• 20 partners from 10 countries
• User and Commercial Organisations, Academic Institutions
• Sept 2009 – Feb 2012
• Open Source - 3rd generation accessibility
• Commercial Partners
– Oracle (Sun Microsystems)
– RIM (Blackberry
– AOL

3. AEGIS – What does it hope to
achieve?
3rd Generation embedded accessibility in
mainstream ICT Development
Environments
Devices and applications that have
built-in accessibility

4. Which specific areas of ICT?
• Rich Internet Applications
• Desktop
• Mobile Devices

5. Developing and Running Software
Applications

6. Target User Groups
• Blind and low-vision users
• Motor Impaired users
• Cognitively and Language impaired users
• Hearing impaired users
• Speech Impaired users

7. Working Together to achieve UCD
End Users Programmers
`Experts`
‘Open Source’ – i.e. Openly available tools and
applications that can be exploited beyond the project

8. User & Stakeholder Involvement
• Pilot sites in:
– Sweden (SU-DART); UK (ACE, RNIB); Belgium (EPR); Spain
(UPM, FONCE)
– End Users, Experts, Developers
• Already accomplished
– User Requirement Specifications
– 1:1 interviews; Workshops (National & International)
– WoZ Trials and mock-ups
– International Conference
– Phase 1 Prototypes evaluated
• Future Programme
– AEGIS Prototype evaluations (Early 2011)
– Final Prototype evaluations (Autumn 2011)
– Demonstrators (Mid 2011 – Early 2012)

9. Prototype:
Concept Coding in OpenOffice.org
• Dynamically annotate text with symbols
– In any language
– For any Symbol set
• Extension to Mainstream Application

10. Prototype:
odt2Daisy (espeak) – odt2Braille
• Extensions to Mainstream Application
– OpenOffice.org
• Guides you
through the
process
– Style guides
– Tutorials
• Output
– Open Daisy format
– supports BRF
and PEF

11. Prototype:
Mobile Contact Manager

12. Prototype:
Open Gazer – dasher …..
• Continuation of OpenGazer:
– gaze tracking with
webcam (Cambridge
Univ)
• Dasher in mobile
environments
•www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/opengazer/

13. Other Prototypes:
• Gnome desktop magnifier
• Haptic maps
• Instant messaging for mobiles
• Screen reader for mobiles
• e-speak Improvements
– English, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish and Greek
• Support for WAI – ARIA
– Cross platform

14. Prototypes:
Training

15. Other Initiatives
• User forum
• OAEG Site
– Blog aggregator (Blog of blogs)
– A11y Repository
• with links to OATSoft.org
– Professional mobility scheme
• A11y Ontology wiki in development
• Training resources

16. Technological Objectives - 1
• Developers Tools
– Improve speed, accuracy, ease and expense of creating
accessible applications
• Eye-tracking
– Develop highly affordable access to desktop and mobile devices
• Desktop – Mobile communication
– Explore real-time-text transfer
• Concept Coding
– Explore and develop ontology based symbol support in standard
office software

17. Technological Objectives -2
• Mobile Applications
– Develop a Text to Speech Engine (based on espeak)
– Develop alternative text entry (based on Dasher)
– Develop AAC prototype (using CCF)
• Window management
– Develop symbol, magnification & text-to speech techniques to
assist locating applications
• User Interfaces
– Develop methods for exposing API-based accessibility
information from free-form ‘Web 2.0’and other user interfaces
• Accessibility Testing
– Develop framework for rapid detection of accessibility problems

18. Social & Economic Objectives
• Empowerment
– Access to Internet services
– Access to mainstream ICT
– Accessible Desktop and Mobile devices at
negligible extra cost
Affordability for all

19. Contacts
Project website http://www.aegis-project.eu/
David Colven colven@ace-centre.org.uk
ACE Centre
92 Windmill Road
Headington
Oxford
OX3 7DR www.ace-centre.org.uk