Transfer and innovation on accessibility

The AccessCat Network connects dozens of researchers from different research groups with numerous affiliated entities, including institutions, associations and professionals in the field of information and communication accessibility. One of the network's objectives is to bridge the gap between research and the market. That's why, on 13 December, it organised a day of transfer, innovation and networking with stakeholders and interested parties in the accessibility sector.

During the event, the winning solutions of the first call for disruptive solutions launched by the network were presented, as well as the finalists of the second call. The aim of this call is to fund evaluation studies of disruptive solutions - both technologies and innovative services or knowledge - for accessibility.

Four projects were presented: a collaborative digital mapping platform for mobility and care in urban environments (Inés Martins, NODES); a laboratory for evaluating the usability and accessibility of web systems (Afra Pascual and Marc González, GRIHO); a specialised digital transcriber (Mireia Farrús, CLiC); and Lulú, the communication barrier-breaker (Chiara Gunella and Marina Pujadas, TransMedia Catalonia).

After the deliberations of the evaluation committee and the public vote, the winning solution was announced: the Remote Usability Lab, led by researchers Afra Pascual and Marc González from the GRIHO research group (University of Lleida). The project will receive up to 20,000 euros in funding from Accesscat.

As researcher Marc González explained during the presentation, this funding will help them assess the market potential of the Remote Usability Lab, a project the research group has been working on for five years.