1. AEGIS Concept & Realisations
M. F. Cabrera, LST-UPM
Peter Korn, Oracle
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

2. Where AEGIS comes from
● EC call: FP7-ICT-2007-2
● Objective: ICT-2007.7.2: Accessible & Inclusive ICT
ICT-2007.7.2(a) New approaches and solutions for deeply embedding generalised
accessibility support within future mainstream ICT-based products and
services. Examples are user interfaces and content representations adaptable to
people with specific needs. It includes open, plug & play accessibility architectures
and standards enabling a seamless integration of personalised assistive solutions for
ICT access. The research is expected to develop and demonstrate the proposed
solutions in a realistic user context and strong industrial participation is envisaged to
promote consensus building and facilitate exploitation).
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

3. Where “AEGIS” comes from
● By the words of the acronym:
● open: collaborate with existing communities
● Accessibility: focus of the project
● Everywhere: desktop, web, mobile
● Groundwork: start from users, user needs
● Infrastructure: build it in to ICT
● Standards: define, then build to standards
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

4. AEGIS Concept – build it in
● “deeply embed generalised accessibility support within future
mainstream ICT ” = build accessibility into all facets of the “value delivery
chain”
● Learn from the built environment:
● Need to address “creation” steps:
– What does it mean to be “accessible”, etc.
● Need to address “use” steps
– Wheelchair ramps don't help unless people have wheelchairs
● Apply to ICT environment: Open Accessibility Framework
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

5. AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

6. AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

7. AEGIS Concept – generations...
● Accessibility evolving: 3 distinct generations
●
1st generation accessibility:
● Character-based systems
nd
●
2 generation accessibility:
● GUI with off-screen models
●
3rd generation accessibility:
● “Access by contract” - accessibility APIs
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

8. AEGIS Concept – key ICT areas
● ICT on the desktop
●
Evolving toward 3rd generation
●
Can 3rd generation meet & exceed best of 2nd?
● ICT on the web – Rich Internet Applications
● Need strategies to make RIAs accessible
● ICT on mobile devices
● Access to all apps running on mobile
● Need to have AT for mobile built-in as well
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

9. AEGIS Concept – start from user
● User questionnaires, focus groups
● Key emphasis in first two AEGIS workshops
● Needs analysis & modeling
● Iterative pilot testing
● Comments from users: feedback to development
● Positive feedback loop...
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

10. Example of feedback loop - SP3
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

11. AEGIS Concept – realisations
● Open Accessibility Framework for desktop
● Realized key missing components for the open
desktop of GNU/Linux & UNIX in GNOME
● Realized powerful authoring environment for
creating accessible documents: Braille & DAISY
● Open Accessibility Framework for RIAs
● Realized fully, but utilizing existing desktop AT
● Open Accessibility Framework for mobile
● Realized fully, including mobile AT
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

12. AEGIS Shipping Results
● Desktop results
● Magnification in GNOME 3; shift to better IPC
● Braille & DAISY creation for OpenOffice & LibreOffice
● Accessibility validation for OpenOffice & LibreOffice
● eSpeak TTS improvements for several languages
● Web RIA results
● ARIA 1.0 in CR, for in Firefox Windows & GNU/Linux
● Multiple UI component sets supporting ARIA
● Mobile results
● Multiple AT available on iOS & Android
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels

13. AEGIS – plans for year 4
● Desktop plans
● CCF for OpenOffice & LibreOffice
● Automated accessibility testing framework
● OpenGazer: face & eye tracking, gaze switch
● Further improvements to shipping results
● Web RIA plans
● ARIA development tool plug-in to NetBeans
● JavaFX accessibility & tooling
● Mobile plans
● Multiple UI component sets, Java mobile platform
● Developer tools using NetBeans & LWUIT Resource Editor
● AAC assistive technology for mobile
AEGIS Workshop and International Conference, Brussels