Second Announcement and Call for Papers
ASK-IT International Conference

Mobility for All – The Use of Ambient Intelligence in Addressing the
Mobility Needs of People with Impairments: The Case of ASK-IT

Nice, the French Riviera, 26-27 October, 2006

The ASK-IT International conference marks the two year point of this EU research funded project. The conference will provide the opportunity to take stock of the progress made in ASK-IT so far. It will also provide a unique occasion for 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 will be 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).

Preliminary Conference Programme

Day 1: 26th October 2006

09:00 Registration and Coffee

Chairman: John Gill – Royal National Institute for the Blind
Welcome and Introduction, Maria Garcia – Siemens
Addressing the Mobility Needs of People with Impairments, Bruno Gaurier – Association des
Paralysés de France
EC Policy on e-Accessibility, European Commission
The Role of the Industry in Design for All, Microsoft
The ASK-IT Approach, Angelos Bekiaris – Hellenic Institute of Transport

Chairman: Karel Brookhuis – Delft University of Technology
Main speaker: Spyros Michailidis - EWORX

Session A2: Ontologies and models for service provision
Chairman: Alexandros Mourouzis – FORTH
Main speaker: John Bateman – University of Bremen

16:00 Exhibition and posters

17:30 End of Day 1

Day 2: 27th October 2006

Chairman: Phil Blythe – University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Main speaker: Xiwen Zhang - Beratung und Planung im Verkehrswesen / Yuhang Zhang –
Beijing Municipal Office of Informatisation

Session B2: Usability issues for the mobile user
Chairman: Greg Vanderheiden – Trace Center (tbc)
Main speaker: Alexandros Mouzouris – FORTH

13:30 Session C1: Ambient Intelligence in the services of accessibility

Chairman: Angelos Bekiaris – Hellenic Institute of Transport
Main speaker: Panos Markopoulos – Technical University Eindhoven

Session C2: Accessibility initiatives in Europe
Chairman: Spyros Michailidis – EWORX
Main speaker: Alexio Picco – AMI Genoa

Chairman: Xiwen Zhang – Beratung und Planung im Verkehrswesen/ Yuhang Zhang –
Beijing Municipal Office of Informatisation
Main speaker: Liddy Nevile – La Trobe University, Sunrise Research Laboratory

Angelos Bekiaris – Hellenic Institute of Transport

Exhibition and sponsors

The conference exhibition area will be formally opened and form an integral part of the conference. Delegates will be given ample time to visit the exhibition area. For more information on the exhibition and rates please fill in the form enclosed and we will contact you.

Register for the Conference

Useful Files
Download third announcement
Download contact form