Abstract
Abstract. Visual maps must be transcribed into (interactive) raised-line maps to be accessible for visually impaired people. However, these tactile maps suffer from several shortcomings: they are long and expensive to produce, they cannot display a large amount of information, and they are not dynamically modifiable. A number of methods have been developed to automate the production of raised-line maps, but there is not yet any tactile map editor on the market. Tangible interactions proved to be an efficient way to help a visually impaired user manipulate spatial representations. Contrary to raised-line maps, tangible maps can be autonomously constructed and edited. In this paper, we present the scenarios and the main expected contributions of the AccessiMap project, which is based on the availability of many sources of open spatial data: 1/ facilitating the production of interactive tactile maps with the development of an open-source web-based editor; 2/ investigating the use of tangible interfaces for the autonomous construction and exploration of a map by a visually impaired user.
Highlights
In collaboration with Makina Corpus company, we are currently developing a web-based editor to facilitate the production of tactile maps by-automatically selecting and adapting OpenStreetMap data or an existing SVG file
We are currently improving the interactive tactile map designed by Brock et al (2015) in order to better understand how it could be used during a geography lesson
During brainstorming sessions and preliminary observations conducted with teachers and pupils of the educational center involved in the project, it appeared that both the authoring software and the collaborative table may modify the current practices and provide new tools for non-visual spatial learning
Summary
Parkes was the first to describe an augmented tactile map (Parkes, 1988). In this device, the tactile map was placed upon a tablet and its content rendered using audio output instead of Braille. When the finger passes over an element, vibrational and vocal feedbacks are rendered These devices allow visually impaired users to access geographical information or estimate a distance between different locations. As these prototypes do not require a tactile overlay, the users can zoom and pan (Poppinga et al, 2011). In order to enhance usability, it is essential to provide the users with tools that facilitate the production of raised-line maps with the corresponding interactive numerical content We suggest that these tools should rely on the availability of numerous sources of spatial (including geographic) data that are free to use. These maps can be annotated with a variety of tags. Rice et al (2013), for example, described several techniques to enhance map accessibility by adding crowdsourced information about temporary obstacles (Rice et al, 2013)
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