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Free AAC software could help to improve this situation, but many existing \u201cfree\u201d applications are either behind a paywall or not published under a free licence. We therefore propose a novel definition of \u201cfreely accessible software\u201d for AAC, which can truly be used by anyone. AsTeRICS Grid (AG) is a feature-rich, grid-based AAC web application which has been developed based on the feedback of AAC users from around the world. The single-page architecture and offline capability of AG reduce the required server resources and human workload for maintenance, so that the service can remain freely accessible in the long term. We conducted an online survey which was completed by 277 participants, to examine the current usage context of AG. Most answers came from professionals (78%) who had previously used other AAC apps. Open questions were asked about advantages and disadvantages of AG, with free accessibility being rated most positively and the lack of certain features being rated most negatively. Examples from the past show that \u201cfree\u201d AAC applications (that are not \u201cfreely accessible software\u201d) have either disappeared or become chargeable. AsTeRICS Grid shows how the conditions for free AAC can be created and how these concepts can be implemented sustainably.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-031-62849-8_16","type":"book-chapter","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,4]],"date-time":"2024-07-04T16:02:04Z","timestamp":1720108924000},"page":"125-136","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["AsTeRICS Grid: Why Freely Accessible Software is Needed for\u00a0Democratizing AAC in\u00a0the\u00a0Long Term"],"prefix":"10.1007","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4630-3907","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Benjamin","family":"Klaus","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Aigner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Deinhofer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Alija","family":"Sabic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Christoph","family":"Veigl","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,7,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"16_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"124894","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2022.3221449","volume":"10","author":"J\u00c1 Ariza","year":"2022","unstructured":"Ariza, J.\u00c1., Pearce, J.M.: Low-cost assistive technologies for disabled people using open-source hardware and software: a systematic literature review. 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