The Center for Digital Accessibility and Assistive Technology (ACCESS@KIT) - the former Study Center for Visually impaired students (SZS) supports and advises visually impaired students and prospective students in all study courses offered at KIT. We also play an active role in teaching and in research on Assistive Technology. ACCESS@KIT works closely with the Computer Vision for Human-Computer Interaction research group.
You can find more information about us in our mission statement and in a short overview of our history.
In our news section below, we inform about events, projects, initiatives and new developments. Please check the News archive for search of previous topics.
Blind people can move around safely with the help of tactile paving. Unfortunately, bicycles, e-scooters or cars are often blocking the tactile paving on campus. Tags for those vehicles can be requested at info@access.kit.edu or printed out.
The seminar is offered by the long-time LWP trainer, Marc Buddensieg, in cooperation with ACCESS@KIT of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
It will take place from January 10 - 12, 2025 in Bad Herrenalb at the seminar house "Haus der Kirche".
Interview and further information
From November 7 - 8, 2024, prospective students discussed their questions with consideration of visual impairment.
The ACCESS@KIT provides color vision tests, glasses against color blindness and a mobile tactile paving for events.
For further information, please contact info@access.kit.edu
ACCESS@KIT organized a Special Thematic Session (STS) on "New Methods for Creating Accessible Teaching Materials in Higher Education" together with the Institute for Integrated Studies from Linz and the Teiresias Support Centre from Brno at ICCHP 2024.
On April 26-27, 2024, the 6th workshop on creating accessible documents took place at KIT in Karlsruhe with around 70 guests. Speakers from various universities, implementation centers and organizations dealing with accessibility presented new trends and best practices.
Since January 2023, the InclusiveVR@Work project has been developing methods for people with and without visual impairments to work together inclusively. It is investigating how a VR environment can be adapted to individual vision and working techniques and how collaborative work on content can be made possible.
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On Wednesday, January 31, the first advisory board meeting of the InclusiveVR@Work project took place in the new building, InformatiKOM 2 at Adenauerring 10.
The ACCESS@KIT took part in the study information day on Wednesday, 22.11.2023. From 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. we offered an open consultation in our new premises of InformatiKOM II (ground floor/1st floor, Adenauerring 10).
In August 2023 ACCESS@KIT moved from Engesserstraße 4 to the new accessible building InformatiKOM II.
Adress: Adenauerring 10, 76131 Karlsruhe, located behind the former hospital for childrens. (coordinates: 49°00'37.5"N 8°25'08.8"E)
Questions about studying have been discussed from May 11 - 12, 2023, with consideration of visual impairment. See program
Blind students visited the exhibition "Von Sinnen" at the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe on March 9 together with staff members of ACCESS@KIT and were enthusiastic about the guided tour for visually impaired people.
As part of the ceremony marking the second KIT Further Development Act, Petra Olschowski, Minister for Research, Education, and the Arts of Baden-Württemberg, visited ACCESS@KIT and learned about its work on services and research for people with visual impairments.
In the hybrid final event in Karlsruhe and Dresden at the end of November the project results of the Accessible Maps project were presented. Here you can find the demo videos of the project.
"We are looking for you! - Take inclusion to the next level with us!"
More information about job offers
At the 2022 Student Information Day, prospective students could get advice on ACCESS@KIT support options from 10 a.m. to noon.
On Friday, July 8, the fair "Besser sehen" took place in Stuttgart in the Liederhalle. The ACCESS@KIT was on site at the trade fair as a cooperation partner.
Together with TU Dresden, we are organizing a Special Thematic Session at ICCHP on "Digital solutions for inclusive mobility: solutions and accessible maps for indoor and outdoor mobility". Contributions are welcome.
Thanks to a generous donation from Cognex, we are able to purchase simulation glasses of various visual impairments and glasses for the correction of color vision deficiencies for self-experience tests. In addition, the donation allows us to provide our students with a mobile LED magnifier and a LED lamp.
The project is aimed specifically at students with disabilities and chronic diseases and is financed by the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung.
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Routago Assist is a special navigation app for people with blindness and low vision. The SZS and the research group cv:hci have developed the basics for this app together with the company iXpoint within the TERRAIN project. On 07 June, the start-up will present the business idea in the TV show "Die Höhle der Löwen".
The SZS participates in the campaign for the Low Vision Day 2021. Bollards are difficult to recognize and people with visual impairments can easily injure themselves. In this campaing they are made visible by a red and white striped cap. On June 07, starting at 10:30 a.m., it will take place on the KIT campus.
The student workroom could be equipped with a new Windows Surface with the help of a donation from the company Cognex. The SZS would like to thank Cognex for the generous donation.
The ActivityKIT project recommends various home workouts. These are instructed in such a way that blind and visually impaired people can also try them out. Nobody should have to do without exercise in times of Corona.
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At the CHI 2020 a contribution of the SZS about the work with the TPad was accepted.
The SZS also participated in the GermanCHI 2020.
The presentation of the TPad can be found on YouTube.
The SZS participates in this year's ICCHP with four articles on the development of a Braille scanner, an eye-tracking based magnification program and two articles on the AccessibleMaps project.
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SZS and TU Dresden develop new approaches within the Accessible Maps project. It aims to improve the mobility of people with impairments by providing barrier-free indoor maps with accessibility features.
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The KIT research podcast reports on the work of the SZS in it's 21st episode. Listen to the podcast in German on the KIT.audio website.
moreThe podcasts offer different views on mobility in daily life and curtent research.
Guiding and Orientation Systems
The cane - AT or wand?
Mobility Training - How blind peole learn to explore the world.
See Project Websíte TERRAIN inclucing this and further podcasts.
The SZS developed a tactile map for the Zoo Karlsruhe together with the Rotary Club Karlsruhe who initiated and sponsored the project. The Baden Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired took part in the tests.
The map can be purchased at the entrance of the zoo for 10 euros. Now people with blindness or visual impairment can plan and carry out a visit to the zoo together with sighted persons.
The SZS participates in generating a memorandum (in German only) regarding better access to learning material and examinations for students with disabilities in all German Higher Education.
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The projects topic is resarch, networking and development of measures and structures leading to a healthy study environment at KIT in participative way. For further information: www.myhealth.kit.edu
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New: Current topics for Thesis as well als job offers for student tutors can be checked on this website. Information
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A free betatestversion, developed with the project SmartCampus_barrierefree is now available. Please take the chance of improving accessibility by giving feedback of your user experiences. Webapp. Projectinformation.
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In case of disability and if you are allowed to use public transports for free you can apply for refunding of the social contribution. Information and form
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For information regarding the situation of road works and orientation in Karlsruhe caused by the "Kombilösung" please contact the hotline +49.721.133-5577. The number is available from from Monday till Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m..