Open Source Assistive Technology Software

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Open Source Assistive Technology Software

• OATS
• David Colven, Steve Lee Simon Judge

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OATS

• Assistive Technology
• Accessibility
• Advice and tools for mainstream
• AT
• Specialist cooperative development
• The OATS Project
• FLOSS software and the OATS project
• Why OATS?
• What does the OATS project deliver?

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The Consortium
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The ACE Centre
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Why OATS?

• An AT focus for all FLOSS development
• Individual projects and shared
• Interested parties contributing together
• Many skills solving user requirements
• Focussed, flexible and custom solutions
• More users with transparent access
• Transport AT to new horizons

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Assistive Technology

• AT software market is growing
• However it is specialised
• Small Market
• Innovation limited
• Box fitting not enough tools
• Lots of interested individuals across sectors

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FLOSS What do AT users want?

• Good design and Innovation
• Simple installation
• Transparency
• Reliability
• Individual solutions to sometimes complex needs
  (even with universal design)
• Low Cost
• All software not just AT
• Ask for what they want and get involved

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Benefits

• Open Source offers an alternative model for
  developing AT software
• Well suited to encourage
• Strong collaboration with users
• Innovation
• Customisation

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FLOSS Strengths

• Many projects like OpenOffice and Firefox now
  meet users needs with excellent features and
  support
• Ideal for innovation and customising to
  individual needs
• Community and user participation
• Rapid development and prototyping
• Free!

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OATS FLOSS Whats in it for developers

• Community and User participation
• Infectious enthusiasm
• Innovate and share innovations.
• Rapid development and prototyping
• Common library of tools and components
• No wheel re-inventing!
• Easily available and usable by more users
• Their work is useful and is used!

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Aims

• Software!
• Home grown OATS and existing OATS
• Resources
• Standards
• Usability
• Installers
• Software structure
• Data transfer
• Resources

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Outcomes

• Pilot project now complete
• Developed, fully operational site
• Prepared means for a community
• The Future
• Oats to continue under day-to-day management
• Further development of content, tools etc.
• Thriving OS community come and join in!

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Website

• All Open Source AT software in ONE place
• Links to free or low cost software
• Easy to use searching and browsing for software
• Links between developers and users (fora)
• Technology transfer from research
• Full range of development tools in Forge
• Trac etc.

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Oats Examples

• Dasher
• AutoHotkey
• PowerTalk
• Special Access to Windows

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Why did we Open Source SAW?

• Limited development resources
• Keep the software free
• Widen the pool of expertise
• Open the program to new ideas
• As an exemplar of AT development

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Automation of the AT User IinterfaceThe big idea

• Potential for enhanced (semi-) automated
  accessibility for switch and pointer users as
  part of a new interface design process.
• Dynamically discover UI structure
• Extract property information
• Receiveevent notifications when UI changes
• Be able to Query an element for its behaviour
• Click a button, scroll a list, moves a window,
  etc.
• Inject keystrokes and mouse input where
  appropriate

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Dynamic Selection Set - A Users Tool
The wizard also constructs the appropriate script
from the available information from the browser
Links and texts extracted automatically and
constructed into a selection set
Information taken from UIAutomation is used to
put data into items
SAW works out the number of items needed and
constructs a grid of items
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Summary

• Provides a new model for software development in
  the AT field
• Encourages innovation
• Allows users to be heard
• Is a single place to go for AT software and
  resources
• www.oastsoft.org

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