IICT

Leader name
University of Zurich
Partners
Idiap, Institut Icare, University of Applied Sciences of Special Needs Education, Swiss Txt, CFS GmbH Capito, Swiss Federation of the Deaf, Federal Office for the Equality of Persons with Disabilities, Federal Office for Civil Protection, Zurich Insurance
Funding
Innosuisse
Start
2022-03-14
Stop
2026-04-26

Communication is an essential requirement for social participation. Digital transformation and the ongoing pandemic have increased the digital divide with respect to access to information and communication for persons with disabilities. The aim of the proposed flagship is to develop ICT that provide access services for these target groups. This is done by radically changing the production workflows: A human-assisted machine scenario is targeted for processes that have hitherto been entirely human-based, and previously semi-automatic processes will be fully automated. The flagship targets five applications: text simplification, sign language translation, sign language assessment, audio description, spoken subtitles. Each application constitutes its own subproject, while tight connections between the subprojects exist through shared technologies. The flagship creates both economic and social value. Its consortium unites the primary stakeholders in the field of inclusive ICTs in Switzerland.