15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference Open Source Assistive Technology Software OATS Simon Judge & Steve Lee

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference Todays OATS About the OATS Project FLOSS software and the OATS project Assistive Technology Why OATS? What will the OATS project deliver? Some examples

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Project Details Who are we? –Consortium –Volunteers Project History ACT

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Project Concepts FLOSS - Open Source Software –FORGE New OATS (developing FLOSS) –Repository Wild OATS (existing FLOSS) Assistive Technology –Special Needs (AAC, EC, SEN etc) –Computer access –General good Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Users!!!!!!

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::FLOSS Hackers scratching a personal itch Cool generic technology Can be removed from users and design Users often need to be technical Recreate existing tools, not new needs Fragmented into many projects

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::FLOSS 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 Did anyone mention low cost?

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::FLOSS & Users Good design and Innovation 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

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::FLOSS & Developers Enable developers to 'scratch another's itch Could soon be their itch too Easily available and usable to more users Innovate and share innovations.

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::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

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Benefits Open Source offers an alternative model for developing AT software Well suited to encourage: –Strong collaboration with users –Innovation –Customisation

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Benefits 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

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Outcomes Website! –All Open Source AT software in ONE place –Easy to use searching and browsing for software –Links between developers and users (forums) –Technology transfer from research –Full range of development tools in Forge

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Outcomes Software! –Home grown OATS and existing OATS –Resources (e.g. Meldreth Manor?)Meldreth Manor Standards –Usability –Installers –Structure of software –Data transfer –Resources

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Example->Dasher Innovative On Screen Keyboard Emerged from research into other topics Development team of PostDoc students Variants on a theme being developed… DEMO

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Example->AutoHotKey Existing OATS… Designed for automating tasks Allows you to remap the keyboard, run a sequence of events –Alternative Mouse Keys –Customisable & Free ABC keyboard! –Customisable & Free Joystick to Mouse –Link with SHOOT for free voice commands –Lots of potential for new resources

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference Sound Check Source: Counting by PowerTalk

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Example::PowerTalk Lucky moment when scratch met itch. Code simplified with FLOSS tools. Significant effort on non-code extras. Requirements and solution guessed. Popular but needs community input. Unexpected educational uses. OATS Project will help PowerTalk grow.

15 th July 2005FLOSSIE Conference OATS::Summary OATS – providing a new model for software development in the AT field Encouraging innovation Allowing users to be heard Single place to go for OATS software and resources (one more example of free resources that could be OATS… PLAY)PLAY