OATS � Open-source Assistive Technology Software �
a repository and dating agency!
Authors: Andrew Lysley (ACE, Oxford) & Simon Judge (ACT, Birmingham)
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Abstract
This article describes the plans for the development of the first open-source software repository and forge dedicated to Assistive Technology (AT).� Web-based, it will provide a one-stop �shop� for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to meet, exchange notes, promote new ideas, develop new software and download reliable open-source AT software.� Initially, the OATS Project is a one-year pilot project finishing in March 2006. �If successful, its exit strategy will be for it to become a self-supporting, on-going web-based service for end users, AT professionals, and open-source developers.
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Summary
Via its repository
or library the project will make existing OATS more accessible by:
� Listing software in a central web-based database
� Offering simple and easy methods to find appropriate software
� Standardising the downloading and installation of software
� Providing a level of quality assurance to guide potential end users
Via its forge
or �dating agency� the project will also encourage the development of
innovative OATS by:
� Attracting volunteer software developers
� Developing new AT software based on specific user needs
� Providing a dynamic discussion forum for users and open-source developers
Finally, for the benefit of end users of AT the definition of OATS will be extended to embrace copyright-free:
� Symbol and picture libraries
� Software resources such as grid sets and user configurations
Introduction
Globally, the Assistive Technology (AT) software field is small and specialised.� As we all know AT development remains an under funded field with its key players often working in relative isolation.� Software is becoming an increasingly powerful and effective tool within the field however the restrictions of the field are holding back development. Open Source software offers a new way of driving forward the Assistive Technology field.� The ethos of OATS, as with all open-source activities, is to make its source code freely available to end users and developers, who then have the right to modify and redistribute the software.� The OATS Project, a web-based, pilot project, �has been established to evaluate what demand and interest there might be for open-source software within the AT field and whether this would ultimately warrant the establishment of a ongoing, self-supporting web service.� �If successful, the OATS �Repository and Forge� will offer the AT field an innovative, inexpensive opportunity to create, share, and above all disseminate good, well-maintained products that have high AT end user value.� Importantly it will also offer the opportunity for users to drive the development of software to provide truly user-centred software.
What OATS will I reap?
Open-sourcing offers great potential for AT software users. However, currently there are a number of barriers that stop its widespread use within the AT community.� It is generally difficult to find on the Internet and until the OATS Project there have been no specific areas dedicated to developing or downloading AT software.�
Open-source software can also be unfriendly to install, often obliging the user to download many different packages before it can be set up and used.� Often it is still �under-development�, poorly documented or technically demanding, something that the end user finds frustrating and irritating.� To see just how complicated this can be for the lay enquirer, one need only visit the most well-known source of mainstream open-source products, Source Forge (http://sourceforge.net/).� Finding OATS products here is like experiencing death by a thousand cuts!� �
The OATS Project�s repository will strip away all the technical complexity and provide via its database and search engine an efficient and intuitive way to access good quality OATS.� By removing these barriers to open-source AT software, users will not only have a single point of contact for obtaining open-source software but volunteer developers will also discover a forum where they can develop ideas and write software that meets the real needs of specific end users.�
What is OATS?
The deliverable of this project is a website � this website will be unique, even among open source websites, since it aims to allow both end users, professionals and developers to interact in the same place.�
End users will experience a simple way to find appropriate software through an accessible web interface � users will be able to find software in a variety of ways.� From logging on to downloading software will take less than 5 clicks.� Users will not only be able to download existing software, but register a need and request software development.
Developers will have a dedicated area for project development with integrated code versioning system, bug and feature tracking, forums, documentation and publishing tools.� In addition developers will obtain direct feedback from users and �power user� testers.
A third party of users will be professionals/clinicians, who will sit between the two groups and contribute on both sides � both suggesting development ideas, feeding back information and providing software to clients.
Figure 1 � Structure of the OATS
website
The website will be achieved through using a content management system (CMS) � PLONE � this extremely scalable CMS is W3C AA accessibility compliant.� The aim of the content management system, combined with the development of a set of boiler plate template pages is for the site to move towards becoming self-sufficient.��
The core of the site will be an online database listing of the software and its characteristics � this database will include both existing and developing software and the website will display the appropriate records in the appropriate areas on the site.
A further outcome of the project will be work on the ease of use of software installation � the aim of the project will be to allow seamless, simple, installation of appropriate software.� To this end some initial software will be packaged into OATS installers, possibly installing straight from the web page.� This will allow easy installation and also updating when new software releases are available.� A standard for software packaging will also be produced and suggested for the Assistive Technology field.
OATS Project Consortium
The ACE Centre, Oxford (Project Co-ordinator)
ACT, Birmingham
Dpt. Of Applied Computing, University of Dundee
Swedish Institute for Special Needs Education, Gothenberg
Contact Details
Andrew Lysley
OATS Project Co-ordinator
The ACE Centre
92 Windmill Road
Headington
Oxford OX3 7DR
�Tel: 01865 759802
Email 'lysley at ace-centre dot org dot uk' or 'oats-sig at lists dot becta dot org dot uk' (modified to avert spam)