These solutions will primarily focus on providing new products and services for consumers that today have little or no contact with the information and knowledge society, whether for economic reasons or simple reluctance in using complex/user unfriendly technical devices/solutions.

AICOS wishes to bridge those barriers, and contribute in closing the digital divide. Accordingly, it will closely cooperate with the Fraunhofer research institutes in Germany as well as with Portuguese universities. The results of applied research and developments will be transferred through intensive cooperation with the relevant industries/companies into viable commercial products, increasing the international competitiveness of Portuguese companies.

Besides the technology transfer role, AICOS also wants to assume a knowledge transfer role through intensive cooperation with local universities and students, offering the opportunity for students to carry out their master or PhD studies at its labs practicing their skills in a “real-world” environment.

Extending the reach of IKS by lowering technical and financial barriers:

• Development of assistive systems for the primary demands of the addressed target groups
• Provision of content adaptation services and development of new content formats
• Development of (public) end-systems, intuitive user-interfaces & front-end applications
• Development of access solutions for low cost broadband access (alternative technical solutions and business models)
• Development of front-end aligned back-end systems
• Transfer and commercialization of results
• Set-Up and/or backing of field-tests