• Loan Library Evaluation Project
• MET (Multimedia Environment for Training)
• PCAD (Portable Communication Aid for Dysphasics)
• PEARL
• SARP (Switch Access to Reading Pack)
• TELENET
• Software Development
• Support for Manufacturers & Developers

• Identifying new areas of Assistive Technology research
• Designing efficient solutions for access problems
• Cultivating a symbiosis between research and clinical skills
• Adapting mainstream technologies to suit pupils with severe and complex needs
• Addressing the unique needs of switch and keyboard users

Our R&D is funded mainly by from donations and grants. The ACE Centre has received funding from both governmental and non-governmental sources including:

The Gatsby Foundation, The Nuffield Auxiliary Fund, The European Union, The Department for Education & Employment, The Department for Health, BECTA, SIH – Sweden, British Telecommunications plc, RNT-DMI – France, Astor Foundation, the Bartlett Taylor Charitable Trust, and the Economist Foundation.

Some supplementary income has also been generated from the sale of R&D deliverables (for example, software and publications).

1999 has been a fruitful and industrious year. We have moved some of the focus to the evaluation of ICT and AAC applications, which can be used innovatively with our complex pupil group.

Our commitment to European funded projects has also continued at a sustainable level. Following the completion of COMSPEC in 1998, the spotlight has fallen on PCAD, a project to develop a portable communication aid for dysphasia. The collaboration with our Swedish and French colleagues continues to demonstrate that it is viable, beneficial, and cost effective to develop assistive technology software within an international framework.

We have also continued to update some of the ACE Centre’s core software, and the appointment in September of a software engineer, Jason Walsh, has already been an unqualified success.

The three-pronged strategy described in the ACE Centre’s Forward Plan (1997) and currently being implemented will be consolidated during the next two years.

European Projects
Involvement will concentrate on the interests of the end user with severe and complex needs. This translates into a growing focus on "usability", "end user interfacing", "training", and "service delivery" issues. We are currently negotiating within a number of European consortia with a view to submitting joint applications to the various Fifth Framework Programme Calls.

Remote Assessment, Training and Support
The use of multimedia, the Internet and other sophisticated remote technologies (for example, point-to-point data exchanging, video conferencing, and wireless LAN systems) will be comprehensively evaluated within the context of projects such as TELENET, LLP, and MET.

Access Software Projects
Our software engineer will continue to upgrade and maintain software such as AccessMaths, WordAid, SAW, Hotspots, and Prophet. These all fill important gaps left by commercial developers and address some of the complex needs of severely disabled users.