Mobility for All – The Use of Ambient Intelligence in Addressing the Mobility Needs of People with Impairments: The Case of ASK-IT
Nuremberg, Germany, 26-27 June, 2008

Brussels, Belgium – The second International conference of ASK-IT marks the end of this EU research funded project. The conference will provide the opportunity to see and test the ASK-IT service and products that have been developed. It will also offer a unique occasion to different stakeholders, whether it be telecom providers, industry, user representatives, research institutes or local authorities, to gather together to discuss the role of Information Communication Technology in aiding and improving the everyday lives of mobility impaired people. The conference will welcome high level speakers and experts from around the world that will look at various issues, such as making content accessible, accessible tools and Ambient Intelligence, and will provide state-of-the-art information on accessibility initiatives in Europe and beyond.

ASK-IT – Ambient Intelligence System of Agents for Knowledge based and Integrated Services for Mobility Impaired Users
ASK-IT is an integrated project, partly funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme, e-Inclusion. The driving vision behind the ASK-IT project is to develop services based on Information Communication Technologies (ICT) that will allow Mobility Impaired people to live more independently. Through a device (mobile phone, PDA) users will have access to relevant and real-time information primarily for travelling but also whilst home, for work and leisure services. The emphasis is on a seamless service provision and a device that is intelligent enough to address the personal needs and preferences of the user. For example, information for a visually impaired person will be given orally, while for an illiterate person mostly in graphics. The project involves a demonstration phase during which the ASK-IT system is tested and evaluated in 8 cities across Europe. ASK-IT involves 57 partners from a range of organisations, including industry, research institutes and European user associations and is coordinated by SIEMENS (Spain) and CERTH/HIT (Hellenic Institute of Transport, Greece).

Call for papers: Deadline 31 January 2007
The conference welcomes high quality contributions from a variety of stakeholders from across Europe and beyond for all sessions. Below, you will find a short description of each session, indicating its scope and expectations.

Session A1: Accessibility content and services

This session focuses on the existence, creation and exploitation of accessible content on the web (or elsewhere) related to buildings, historical sites, transport etc. It also focuses on accessibility services offered regarding transport, tourism or people on the move in general. Issues of interest include content ownership, management, maintenance, quality of service, business models, coverage, key actors, evaluation etc. Special attention will be given to presentations coming from ASK-IT demonstration experiences.

Session A2: Accessible and all inclusive architecture

This session focuses on ontological frameworks for semantic web services. It will look at content and service delivery format and structure. Accessibility attributes are the focus, although do not necessarily have to be covered in each paper.

Session B1: Accessibility tools for the mobile user

This session looks at technologies and tools to support the mobility-impaired user to find his/her way (localisation, accessible route guidance), to drive and get information whilst driving, to control his/her environment,(elevator, things, public terminals, etc.), to electronically book and/or pay for services, to get medical support while travelling and to control assistive devices, work and learn.

Session B2: User experience engineering for users on the move

This session explores the issues and practicalities of design that is intended to improve the user experience of users on the move, including of people whose mobility is challenged due to disability and /or age. The session will present original design approaches that take into account diversity of users and contexts of use in innovation and development of mobile interfaces (for PDAs, intelligent phones, in-vehicle terminals) and infomobility services. Universal access and Ambient Intelligence are seen as key domains for these issues.

Session C1: Ambient Intelligence in the services of accessibility

This session focuses on Ambient Intelligence frameworks: The use of Intelligent Agents technology to personalise services and interfaces to static (i.e. age, disability, gender), semi-dynamic (i.e. travelling as tourist, commuter, or businessman) and dynamic (i.e. type of restaurant or hotel preferred, maximum walking distance) user preferences and context of use (i.e. while driving, at home, on the move, in the airport, etc.).

Session C2: Accessibility initiatives in Europe

This session identifies initiatives in European cities, regions or other areas to enhance the electronic (information) and physical accessibility for all types of mobility impaired users (including wheelchair users, blind, deaf, elderly, illiterate, dyslectic, etc.). Local initiatives, as well as country-wide or multi-national ones are welcomed, with emphasis on serving the mobile user (citizen or tourist).

Session D: Concertation of research initiatives – World experiences

This session identifies international (non-European) initiatives to enhance the electronic (information) and physical accessibility for all types of mobility impaired users (including wheelchair users, blind, deaf, elderly, illiterate, dyslexic, etc.). Local initiatives, as well as country-wide or multi-national ones are welcomed, with emphasis on serving the mobile user (citizen or tourist).

Scientific Committee

All abstracts submitted will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee, which consists of a panel of high level experts:

• Evangelos Bekiaris – CERTH/Hellenic Institute for Transport;
• Phil Blythe – University of Newcastle;
• John Gill – Royal National Institute of the Blind
• Silvio Bonfiglio – PHILIPS;
• Patrick Roe – COST219er;
• Maria Panou – CERTH/Hellenic Institute for Transport;
• Neil Hernandez –Gress – Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey;
• Karel Brookhuis, Technical University of Delft.

Prize Awards

The ASK-IT project will award two prizes, one for the best student paper received and one for the best paper from developing countries. Each prize will consist of a financial grant of 1.000 €. If you wish to apply for this award, please indicate this with your abstract submission.

How to submit an abstract?

The deadline for submissions is 31 January 2008; abstracts should not be longer than two pages. Submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and you will be notified of the outcome in March. You can either submit an abstract online via the ASK-IT website: http://www.ask-it.org/conference/login.php