Supported communication meets free licenses: AsTeRICS Grid at UK-Congress in Leipzig
12 December, 2023
Benjamin Klaus gave a presentation on augmentative and alternative communication at this year’s congress of the AAC Association.
The UK-Congress of the Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) is held annually and is the largest German-speaking conference on this topic. Benjamin Klaus (Lecturer & Researcher in the Competence center IoT and Electronics at UAS Technikum Wien) gave a presentation at this year’s congress entitled “Communication for all – AAC meets free licenses”. It was explained that in the field of AAC, the majority of tools and resources are distributed by companies under commercial licenses, which means that people in need in countries of the Global South often have no access to them.
This can be viewed critically, as the right to communication is firmly anchored in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) and thus existing resources for exercising (human) rights are withheld from a large group of people. The presentation therefore emphasized the importance of UK resources under free licenses. As a practical example, the free software for the UK AsTeRICS Grid” developed at UAS Technikum Wien in MA23-funded research projects was presented.
AsTeRICS Grid can be used equally on devices with any operating system
Unlike many existing apps for the UK, AsTeRICS Grid can be used on devices with any operating system (e.g. PC, tablet, smartphone, Android, iOS). The configuration can be synchronized to several devices of one person. In addition to standard functions for grid-based UK, AsTeRICS Grid also offers options for environmental control and accessible media consumption (web radio, YouTube). Communication via written language is also possible.
All content can be easily and flexibly adapted and translated into any language. In addition to use in the app, content can also be exported as a PDF and printed out on paper. Thanks to its diverse functions, AsTeRICS Grid can be used for the following use cases: symbol-based communication, text-based communication, control interface for devices in the environment, and accessible media playback.
Research result used worldwide
The audience showed great interest in AsTeRICS Grid, as there are currently no free tools with a similar number of flexible application options in the UK. In the course of the event, contacts were made with international experts in this field and thus the research result of the UAS Technikum Wien, which is already used worldwide (100,000 views per month), was made even better known.
The trip was carried out as part of the Inclusion International project (funded by MA23 – project number 33-02).
Cover picture, top: Communicator of ARASAAC (Spanish organization) in AsTeRICS Grid.
Picture 2, bottom: Lecture by Benjamin Klaus at the UK Congress: “Communication for All”.
Image 3, at the bottom: Slide on the gap in demand for software for UK worldwide.
