… about the AEGIS projectcurrent status and ahead ...

FSCONS 2011-11-13

FSCONS, Göteborg 2011-11-13Mats Lundälv DART

AEGIS-projektet

FSCONS 2011-11-13

● What AEGIS is: ◊ Short about the background◊ Project aims

● Where we stand today:◊ Exemples of achievements◊ What's in the pipe until the closure Sept 2012

● Perspectives ahead● Resources - links

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ÆGIS:

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Some background:

• ICT is coming into all aspects of modern life– Partly and for some this may be perceived as

progress– In parts and for others it may be a pain

• For many of us – including those of us who will live long enough to be elderly – some choices concerning accessibility will greatly influence whether this ICT invasion of our lives will be a curse or a blessing.

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e-Inclusion

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) play an essential role in supporting daily life in today's digital society. They are used at work, to stay in touch with family, to deal with public services as well as to take part in culture, entertainment, leisure and political dialogues.e-Inclusion aims to achieve that "no one is left behind" in enjoying the benefits of ICT. e-Inclusion means both inclusive ICT and the use of ICT to achieve wider inclusion objectives. It focuses on participation of all individuals and communities in all aspects of the information society. e-Inclusion policy, therefore, aims at reducing gaps in ICT usage and promoting the use of ICT to overcome exclusion, and improve economic performance, employment opportunities, quality of life, social participation and cohesion.European e-inclusion policye-inclusion features prominently in the Digital Agenda for Europe adopted by the European Commission in May 2010.http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/ http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/

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•The challenge:

(freely after Gregg Vanderheiden RtF - GPII)

• To keep up with the accelerating general ICT development – which we all are increasingly depending on for our daily lifes

• How to offer reasonable access for all who encounter obstacles due to disability, reading and writing difficulties, aging etc.– i.e. for many more than we've done so far (10-20x+) – wider range of abilities/disabilities and needs to be

covered than traditionally

… and to manage this within available budgets !

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ÆGIS aims to contribute by:

• Develop building blocks for accessibility• Building on previous achievements and concurrent

efforts for access to desktop environment – now also for Internet services mobile devices and services

• Researching how to build a foundation – an OAF – “Open Accessibility Framework” – facilitating for mainstream developers to bring out products that work better for people with disabilities

• Contributing to a free/open infrastructure for a11y

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... development & use ...

Development and execution of software – on the desktop, the Internet, the mobile

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”open” and ”free” – what does it meanin this context?

• That tools – both for developers and users are free to access and share widely and freely, build in from the start, and be available for more users

• That the knowledge about how to make ICT more accessibility can be spread freely – open and free standards, software and resources

• That the floor for access can be raised – and also reach to where resources are scarce

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Exemples of what's been and is done - in general :

User Centered Development:• AEGIS “personas” (currently around 16 )

– Cognition– Hearing – Vision– Mobility– Communication– Developers

www.aegis-project.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=53

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Exemples of what's been and is done - the desktop environment (1):

• Contributions to basic accessibility in Unix/GNU-Linux • Accessibility in Open/LibreOffice (cross-platform) • A few complementary things for Windows

– Nothing specifically for Mac OS X

• e.g:

– Magnification in Gnome 3.x – GnomeShell Magnifier– Alternative input/control (Dasher, Caribou, OpenGazer, SAW)

– DAISY-books and Braille in/by Open/LibreOffice– Graphic symbol support in Open/LibreOffice Writer – etc

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Exemples of what's been and is done - the desktop environment (2) :

Symbol support in OpenOffice/LibreOffice Writer

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Exemples of what's been and is done - Rich Internet Applications :

Toolkits for building accessible web services ... • Jqueery, Fluid Infusion, MooTools

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Exemples of what's been and is done- for mobile devices (1) :

Framework for accessibility (Java) ...… sample AT software:• Accessible Contact Manager

– for Android– For Java

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Exemples of what's been and is done- for mobile devices (2) :

… more sample software:• Tecla Access - for Android

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Exemples of what's been and is done- for mobile devices (3) :

… more sample software:• Dasher - for Android och iPhone

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Exemples of what's been and is done- for mobile devices (4) :

… more sample software:• AAC with CCF Symbol support - Android

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Future Perspectives

• Development will continue until e.o.p. Sept. 2012

– For a last pilot tests mid spring 2012– Final adjustments and wider dessimination – Shows – demos during late spring 2012

• Work will be continued and followed up after the project:

– … continued contributions for open standards– … follow-up projects in different areas– … hopefully spreading over into a range of activities

for free software, in research, companies and other entities in the private and public sectors.

–

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www.aegis-project.eu - www.oaeg.eu www.raisingthefloor.net http://gpii.org

www.dart-gbg.org

ÆGIS related links

www.oatsoft.org http://projects.gnome.org/accessibility

- AEGIS Accessibility Personas

- http://www.accessiblemootoolsdemo.iao.fraunhofer.de/Mootools_Widgets/

- http://access.aol.com/aegis/ - www.fluidproject.org/products/infusion/ - http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/profile/theofanis1999 - www.droiddraw.org - Dasher for Android (and iPhone and Windows ...) https://market.android.com/details?id=dasher.android

- Accessible Contact Manager https://market.android.com/details?id=eu.aegis_project.android.ContactManager

- Tecla Access https://market.android.com/details?id=ca.idi.tekla&hl=sv

- eSpeak - Android: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.marvin.espeak&hl=sv

- http://odt2daisy.sourceforge.net/ - http://odt2braille.sourceforge.net/ - http://sourceforge.net/p/accessodf/ - http://live.gnome.org/GnomeShell/Magnification - http://live.gnome.org/Caribou