The study "Analysing and federating of the assistive technology ICT industry" is being undertaken by ROBOTIKER–TECNALIA (Spain) for the eInclusion Unit of the European Commission in collaboration with the AAATE (The Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe), the IBV (Instituto de Biomecánica de Valencia, Spain) and NG4ALL (Next generation for all, The Netherlands).

The main objective of this study is to carry out an in-depth analysis of the European Assistive Technology (AT) Industry related to ICT products and services, aiming to identify growth opportunities and barriers to its development.

The main questions to be answered in this study are:

• How does the AT ICT industry work?
• Recommendations on how the AT ICT industry can network and better cooperate at EU level.

The conclusions and recommendations of this study will be of use in the preparation by the European Commission of policy actions and recommendations in the fields of eInclusion, eAccessibility and independent living.

The relevant project began in April 2007 and has been completed on 30 September 2008. As part of this project, the team has prepared a series of reports for the European Commission’s eInclusion unit.

The project’s final workshop will be held in the morning of 15 October (10:30 to 13:30) within the REHACARE 2008 Trade Fair and Congress. The workshop will present the final outcome of this study, including the recommendations made.