A Refreshable Tactile Display Effectively Supports Cognitive Mapping Followed by Orientation and Mobility Tasks

Abstract

We investigate the role of refreshable tactile display in supporting the learning of cognitive maps, followed by actual exploration of a real environment that matches that map. We test both blind and low-vision persons and compare displaying maps in three information modes: with a pin array matrix, with raised paper and with verbal descriptions. We find that the pin matrix leads to a better way of externalizing a cognitive map and reduces the performance gap between blind and low-vision people. The entire evaluation is performed by participants in autonomy and suggests that refreshable tactile displays may be used to train blind persons in orientation and mobility tasks.