Zeroproject Conference and Assistive Technology Get-Together

01 April, 2025

The University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien is committed to a barrier-free future and Assistive Technologies with its projects Bertl, Inclusion International and InDiKo. At the Zero Project Conference, new technological approaches to inclusion were presented and international cooperation was strengthened.

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Zeroproject Conference and Assistive Technology Get-Together

Zero Project Conference 2025 (5th-7th March) at the United Nations Office in Vienna brought together accessibility leaders from across the world, with over 90 countries represented. 360 speakers presented their work to more than 1,400 participants at the Vienna International Center (and many more online), to advocate for inclusion and accessibility and for a world with zero barriers.

UAS Technikum Wien was represented by three departments of the University: Electronic Engineering and Entrepreneurship, Life Science Engineering and Computer Science. At a demo booth, the work on alternative Human Computer Interfaces (HCI), Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Digital Accessibility of Smart Homes and the Internet of Things (IoT) was presented by the projects InDiKo and Inclusion International.

The conference offered exciting lectures and discussions and also valuable networking opportunities. The exchange with experts from various fields was particularly enriching for Iris Nemec and Sarah Langer (project BERTL), opening up new perspectives for accessible teaching and learning and Assistive Technologies.

The following AT-related R&D projects are currently under active development:

BERTL (Iris Nemec): The aim of the Barrier-free dEsign foR Teaching and Learning (BERTL) project is to raise awareness of barriers in teaching, to make them visible and to reduce or completely avoid them.
Inclusion International (Martin Deinhofer): The project Inclusion International combines the fields of action ‘internationalisation’ and ‘e-Inclusion’ and supports people with disabilities through modern information and communication technologies.
InDiKo (Stefan Paschek): The project Inclusion through Digitally augmented Communication (InDiKo) researches and develops new technical possibilities in the field of AAC and implements innovative ideas in practical cooperations with organisations in Vienna.

Assistive Technology Get-Together at Smart Living Lab

The team of UAS Technikum Wien (Martin Deinhofer, Benjamin Klaus, Sarah Langer, Fritz Praus, Alija Sabic, Chris Veigl) invited several partner organizations and contacts, coming for the conference, to the Smart Living Lab at Technikum Wien in order to demonstrate the current work and to discuss future collaborations.

Carol Tang and Alvin Tan (SG Enable – A focal agency of the Ministry of Social and Family Development in Singapore), Stefan Sauermann (Vice rector UAS Technikum Wien and program director of the master study program Medical Engineering and eHealth) and Lukas Rohatsch (project IDERHA) discussed standards and approaches for creating a database about people with disabilities in Singapur and synergies with the Austrian Electronic Health Record System (EHR) and the EU project IDERHA.

LaVonne Roberts and Eric Kern of the Scott Morgan Foundation introduced their blueprint of an assistive communication device in the form of a hyper-realistic AI avatar dedicated to preserving the voice and mimics of people with severe neuro-degenerative diseases. Franz-Joseph Huainigg (former Austrian Parliament Representative (2002-2017)) and Erin Taylor (diagnosed ALS) recently demonstrated the technology holding a speech at the Austrian parliament.

Brian Mwenda (HopeTech Plus) presented The Sixth Sense – a device that uses wearable technology, haptic feedback and hands free navigation to help blind people navigate day to day journeys more safely. The device combines hazard detection and a mobile app to keep you on course for your destination whilst alerting you to things in your environment.

Other guests in the Smart Living Lab of UAS Technikum Wien were Dr. Ibrahim Cherradi (CEO, founder Keynoa Technologies), Klaus Höckner (Manager of the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired Austria), Prof. Kyle Keane (AT lecturer & researcher at University of Bristol), Simon Poole and Charlotte Alderson (SmartBox AAC hardware and software solutions), Natascha Toman (AAC Expert, Ambassador and Lecturer), Julia Undeutsch (Accessibility Expert), Dr. Elisabeth Wetzer (Associate Professor in Machine Learning at The Arctic University of Norway) and Laura Wissiak (UX researcher and Accessibility Expert). The get-together helped to grow the network of international partners for future R&D collaborations of UAS Technikum Wien.

Project Funding

Snacks and drinks were provided by the International Office and the Faculty of Electronic Engineering & Entrepreneurship and Hope Tech Plus.

The following projects are financially supported by the City of Vienna (MA23) – Economic Affairs, Labour and Statistics under their project grant numbers: BERTL (32-05), Inclusion International (33-02) and InDiKo (38-09).
The IDERHA project is supported by the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 101112135. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and life science industries represented by COCIR, EFPIA / Vaccines Europe, EuropaBio and MedTech Europe.