ACCESSIBLE - Applications Design and Development

Expected impact

ACCESSIBLE will empower research community on effective accessibility standards and technologies helping to create and improve the understanding of those aspects. This consideration will unquestionably add to quality, accessibility and usability of software applications. The ACCESSIBLE system will support the software development of future applications that will be more accessible and designed for all. This project will help to overcome the fragmented approaches that are currently taking place in accessibility issues. It will enormously contribute to inspire innovation and thus stimulate the ICT and digital content markets in Europe. By empowering software developers, and organisations with accessibility assessment systems and ubiquitous and personalised design and developer’s aid tools, the competitiveness of Europe’s software, services will be increased in this emerging market.

ACCESSIBLE is also related to the eEurope 2010 strategy. This project will help to overcome the fragmented approaches that are currently taking place in accessibility issues. It will enormously contribute to inspire innovation and thus stimulate the ICT and digital content markets in Europe. Overall, ACCESSIBLE will benefit the EC information society in terms of economics and improved services reaching its customers, users, suppliers and citizens, in general improving European software developers/designers and products’ competitiveness. The vision behind ACCESSIBLE is to develop applications and services based on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) that will allow people with disabilities to live more independently.

Accessibility should be seen as an investment in infrastructure, leading to increased production and higher productivity.

ACCESSIBLE will establish a mean of bridging the gap between people with disabilities and non-people with disabilities online and generally close to ICT technology. Consequently, ACCESSIBLE will give more opportunities for greater synergy and link with the information society. It means that accessibility is a concern for everyone, not only for a minority with special needs. With an increasingly diverse and ageing society, the objective should –and will- increasingly be to promote accessibility for all.