The New Cross-Platform Accessibility Model from Microsoft

Switching over from the old accessibility model, Microsoft Corp. is in the process of transition through the introduction of a new cross-platform accessibility model called the User Interface Automation, supported in Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Rob Sinclair, director of Microsoft’s Accessible Technology Group and one of the chief architects of UI Automation, hopes to see UI Automation take a key role in the larger industry network of assistive technology. His endeavors to endorse the benefits of moving the industry towards the accessibility standard is appreciable.

With the accessibility standard, it is easier to innovate across the industry in the accessibility space, since developers can save time on writing separate code for each platform.

The UI Automation along with assistive technology products and automated testing frameworks provides programmatic access to the GUI. A cross-platform, royalty-free license for UI Automation is offered to foster the use across various operating system platforms. Microsoft possesses licenses for application development, client development and platform development.

UI Automation, which exposes information about the UI, is used to enable devices to transfer information from one device to another, such as from a smart phone to a kiosk.

Microsoft’s ATG makes the Windows handier for aging baby boomers and disabled users. This is because about 48% of the US force is over 40 years old, and 57% of Windows users utilize accessibility features like magnifiers, color settings, font sizing, and speech recognition.

According to David Orris, an enterprise architect at the US Department of Defense, “Assistive technology is a real equalizer for people with disabilities.”

Source: Microsoft