ViaSport, Microsoft Canada Team Up On Tech For More Inclusive Sports

Thanks to the work of British Columbia’s viaSport and Microsoft Canada, people with disabilities will have better online resources to participate in sports, according to a viaSport statement.

ViaSport, which is partially supported by the government of British Columbia, is a non-profit that promotes amateur sports within the province — a result of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. With Microsoft Canada’s partnership, viaSport has created a online chatbot called Accessibility Sport Hub, or ASH.

ASH will function as a medium for sports experts to connect and share resources with people interested in participating in or creating a more disability-friendly sports environment. Introductory efforts are focused on leveraging technology to make sports more inclusive of disabled participants.

Using Microsoft technology, ASH is designed to help people with disabilities easily talk to the system and connect with experts who can help. An artificial intelligence-type tool called Language Understanding Intelligent Service works to understand commands and questions spoken conversationally and colloquially. A video about ASH’s functionality claims that though ASH cannot tell a user who is able to participate in a given sport or the locations of programs, but it can direct that user to organizations that can provide those answers.

“ViaSport was thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Microsoft on the creation of our Accessibility Sport Hub,” Sheila Bouman, viaSport’s CEO, said in the statement. “With funding provided by the Province of British Columbia and the guidance of Microsoft’s technology leaders, we have created a new platform for people to share information and resources.”

Microsoft will share the knowledge and technology that helped create ASH in an open-source format. Microsoft also collaborated with Mark Schramm, the Vancouver-based president of business tech consultancy Fusionware and a Microsoft “MVP” who shares his expertise with the greater community.

“Through our collaboration with viaSport, and harnessing the Microsoft Bot Framework, we were able to create an inclusive program that helps breakthrough barriers and provides athletes living with disabilities easier access to facilities,” Tommy Lewis, Microsoft Canada’s technology evangelism manager, said in a statement.

Bouman added: “We are confident in ASH’s architecture and vision, and recognizing that this technology solution is currently in a formative stage, we are inviting British Columbians to review and provide feedback on ASH to make it even better. Over time, we will have a seamless platform that enables more sport leaders to increase the inclusiveness of their programs so that more British Columbians can thrive via sport.”