Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon

Empowering participants to build skills and make real contributions to the assistive technology!

GitHub is committed to improving the accessibility of open source software and empowering people with disabilities to actively contribute. In partnership with NV Access, the Center for Accessibility and Open Source and the Northwest Center for Assistive Technology Training, we’re hosting an “Open Source Assistive Technology Hackathon” focused on empowering participants to build skills and make real contributions to the assistive technology tools people rely on every day.

New to open source? No problem! We’ll walk through core GitHub contribution workflows (including NVDA and keyboard-only navigation), so you can practice navigating repositories, issues, pull requests, and code reviews with confidence. Whether you’re new to contributing or ready to level up, you’ll leave with practical experience and a clearer path to ongoing open source involvement.

We’ll have special community spaces to help participants learn, build, and collaborate throughout the hackathon:

1. Github Learning Room: A two day hands-on workshop where we guide learners through learning Github principles with the capstone of ending up contributing to an open source project and creating AI-based accessibility agents.
2. NV Access Office Hours Room: The NV Access team behind NVDA will be available on Day 1 to support participating projects. Stop by during office hours to ask questions, get feedback, or troubleshoot. Sign-ups will be available at the hackathon.

Ready to contribute? Join us to contribute to one of our featured open source AT projects!

Featured projects:

1. ProgramAT: This project provides a tool (mobile app + server + Github repository) for blind or low-vision users to create their own camera-based assistive technology using natural language instructions. Users will be able to fork the repository, set up a local server on their computer, install an app, and build and iterate on custom camera-based assistive tools with GitHub Copilot. ProgramAT Repo
2. Equalify Reflow PDF Viewer: Translate PDFs into Accessible markdown. Equalify Reflow is an AI harness that routes PDF content to specifically designed AI agents. The Open Source project intends to reduce the cost and time it takes to view PDFs as accessible content. For this hackathon, we're creating a Chrome extension for reflow, so screen reader users can quickly access a PDF they encounter on a page.
3. Grassroots Open Assistive Tech, Power wheelchair software and hardware hacks: Power wheelchairs use various protocols, including R-net, for communication between joystick, motors, and battery. They also gather and send data to the manufacturers. We'd like to make those things transparent for users and developers so that we can better understand and extend our wheelchair's capabilities. Grassroots Open Assistive Tech Repo
4. Door-to-Door Accessibility Explorer: Current accessibility and trip-planning tools often fail to address the "last 50 meters"- whether users can actually travel from their starting point to their destination via usable entryways or boarding locations. This project combines profile-based accessible routing with visual frontage inspection, leveraging the AccessMap API for route generation and the Mapillary API for real-world imagery. It enables users and planners to assess true accessibility beyond the sidewalk network.
5. Markup Driven Pronunciation: This project aims to enhance screen reader pronunciation for complex or ambiguous words such as names, acronyms, numbers, and technical terms, by enabling NVDA to use standardized SSML data-ssml metadata. Content authors can provide precise pronunciation cues, improving accessibility for users who rely on assistive technology and reducing confusion in educational and assessment settings. The initiative leverages open standards and collaboration to address ongoing accessibility challenges. Markup Driven Pronunciation Repo
6. Final Fantasy 8 Accessibility Mod: An open-source mod for the 2013 Steam PC release that enables blind users to play the game. It provides real-time text-to-speech narration for dialogue, menus, battles, and interactions via Windows SAPI. The mod is actively developed and tested by a blind developer. For this hackathon, focus areas include accessible character navigation on field/world maps, handling disconnected walkmesh islands, detecting exits via JSM script parsing, and calibrating camera-relative directions. Requirements: Windows PC with FF8 (App ID 39150), FFNx v1.23.x, and Visual Studio 2019+ with Desktop Development with C++ workload. Final Fantasy 8 Accessibility Mod Repo
7. Synchronization-Aware AT API: This project models screen reader accessibility APIs as distributed systems, addressing how event streams can be slow, incomplete, or out-of-order—causing missed headings and unpredictable navigation. We'll design a consistency mechanism to help screen readers maintain an accurate, up-to-date interface representation, making interactions like heading navigation and table of contents location fast and reliable. This restores user trust in screen reader behavior while enabling developers to test against real event streams, improving regression coverage and reliability. Synchronization-Aware AT API Repo
8. How We (Actually) Work: Measuring Employee Accessibility, Caregiving, and Adaptation: Accesscats, an accessibility-focused group at GitHub, developed an internal survey to better understand how employees actually work, including the assistive technologies, adaptations, and caregiving responsibilities that shape their day-to-day experience. Initial results suggest that accessibility-related tools and strategies are far more widespread than commonly assumed. This project aims to evolve the survey into a more rigorous, externally usable instrument that can capture a broader range of developer experiences across different work environments, with the goal of informing more effective assistive technologies and accessibility practices across the industry. How We (Actually) Work Repo
9. Tempest Touch: A real-time weather mapping application designed specifically for the Monarch. The app transforms live meteorological data into dynamic tactile graphics and braille labels, allowing blind and low vision users to explore current weather conditions spatially and interactively. Unlike traditional audio forecasts that describe weather in a linear narrative form, this application would present weather as a tactile map that can be explored through touch. Users can feel precipitation patterns, temperature zones, storm fronts, wind direction, and severe weather alerts as raised textures and symbols that update in real time. The Monarch Tactile Display will be used as part of the development process for this hackathon. A temporary license will be available to access and use the Monarch SDK, developers will be required to sign a free license agreement to continue using the SDK after the hackathon. Monarch site
10. DeafBlind TTY Application for Monarch Tactile Display: This project challenges participants to design and develop a modern TTY-style communication application for the Monarch Tactile Display, specifically tailored for users who are deafblind. The goal is to reimagine traditional text-based communication by leveraging Monarch’s dynamic tactile interface to create a more intuitive, real-time conversational experience. Participants will explore how tactile output, structured text interaction, and accessible input methods can be combined to support effective two-way communication. The application should enable users to send, receive, and navigate messages independently, with a focus on clarity, responsiveness, and ease of use. A temporary license will be available to access and use the Monarch SDK, developers will be required to sign a free license agreement to continue using the SDK after the hackathon. Monarch site
11. Tactile Block Game for Monarch Tactile Display: Design and develop an original tactile block-based game for the Monarch Tactile Display. Explore how dynamic tactile graphics can create engaging, interactive gameplay accessible to users who are blind or low vision. This open-ended challenge encourages experimentation with different mechanics, objectives, and play styles—including puzzle games, strategy challenges, reaction-based gameplay, or novel concepts that leverage the tactile interface. The Monarch Tactile Display will be available during development. A temporary license will be available to access and use the Monarch SDK, developers will be required to sign a free license agreement to continue using the SDK after the hackathon. Monarch site
12. Adaptable Fanny Pack: We want to design and prototype an accessible fanny pack that allows people with disabilities to store and retrieve items with one hand. Many existing fanny packs rely on small zippers and offer limited organization, which makes it hard to identify and access items quickly. Our solution should use easy-to-operate closures and a clear internal organization system that keeps items separated and easy to find. The final design must be lightweight, intuitive, and practical for everyday tasks like communicating, making purchases, and using public transportation. Adaptable Fanny Pack Repo
13. Q Charm Accessories: Q Charms help individuals communicate using AAC icons or keep track of tasks, and the version we’re working with consists of 3D-printable charms that attach to a silicone wristband or bracelet. However, the current bracelet design has limited length, and clinicians have also requested a lanyard-style necklace option as an alternative. To address these needs, we aim to (1) design an adjustable bracelet extender compatible with the existing Q Charms bracelets and (2) design a wearable lanyard that allows Q Charms to be easily attached and detached. Q Charm Accessories Repo
14. Customized Q Charms: Q Charms offer an alternative way for individuals to communicate through icons and can also be used to help track tasks. The Q Charms we’re working with are 3D-printable charms that can feature customized icons, and our goal is to expand how easily they can be personalized. Specifically, we aim to create an accessible software pipeline that enables users to generate custom digital Q Charm designs in CAD, and to design a physically customizable Q Charm that allows someone to add any image or icon of their choice. Customized Q Charms Repo
15. Weighted Backpack Project: Existing weighted backpacks are typically designed for young children and often lack durability or long-term usability. Our goal is to create a durable, aesthetically appropriate weighted backpack designed for autistic teens and adults who benefit from sensory input. The solution should incorporate secure, evenly distributed weight, strong materials, and a design that grows with the user over time. The backpack should be functional, comfortable, and visually appropriate for older users while maintaining affordability and reliability. Weighted Backpack Project Repo
16. Hair Clip for Tenodesis: For individuals using tenodesis grasp, the standard wings on a hair clip may be difficult to grasp due to their short length. We aim to create a universal device that can add length to the hair clip handles, making it easier for someone to grasp with tenodesis. Hair Clip for Tenodesis Repo

We sent a brief pre-event survey to gauge interest in each featured project, which will help us plan teams and allocate resources.

We’re seeking additional projects to feature! If you maintain (or contribute to) an AT project and would like your project to be part of the hackathon - whether it needs docs improvements, triage support, testing, or small starter issues - please reach out to Maria Lamardo.

Got a new idea you want to work on? Bring it and work on it with accessibility and technology experts! No need for technical skills!

Event Details:

• Cost: Free!
• Dates: May 21 - 22
• Location: GitHub headquarters in San Francisco (88 Colin P Kelly Jr St, San Francisco, CA 94107)
• Food: Expect light breakfast options each morning, catered lunch on both days, and dinner on Day 1. More details will be found in the agenda closer to the event.
• Services provided: ASL interpretation and CART captioning.

Who Should Attend

• People with lived experience who want to innovate on assistive technology
• Developers with disabilities
• Developers with a desire to help improve and customize assistive technologies
• Professionals working in the field of special education, rehabilitation engineering, biomedical engineering, and other fields that can benefit from free open source assistive technology
• Open source AT maintainers

We’d love your participation in this event. Sign up for the event using this form.

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Slack

Join us on the Open Source Accessibility Slack; look for the hackathon-open-source-assistive-tech channel for this event.