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.

1. From open geographical data to tangible maps:
improving the accessibility of maps for visually
impaired people
Julie Ducasse, Marc Macé, Christophe Jouffrais
1
http://www.irit.fr/accessimap/
http://www.cherchonspourvoir.org/fr/

2. ACCESSIBILITY OF MAPS
• 285 millions of visually impaired people
• Maps and graphics are inherently inaccessible
• But necessary:
• For educational purposes
Orientation & Mobility
Geography
• For day-to-day life
Preparing an itinerary
Discovering a new city
General knowledge
2
A raised-line map

3. INTERACTIVE MAPS
Brock et al. Interactivity Improves Usability of Geographic Maps for Visually Impaired
People. in Human-Computer Interaction
Touch the map ! 1
• Touch sensitive devices with a tactile overlay : audio-
tactile maps
Can be explored with two hands
Are affordable
More usable than tactile maps
3

4. INTERACTIVE MAPS
How to automate the production of
interactive tactile maps ?
How to enable a more dynamic exploration
and a more autonomous access ? 4

5. DEVELOPMENT OF A WEB-BASED
AUTHORING EDITOR FOR THE
PRODUCTION OF TACTILE MAPS
5

6. RELATED WORK & MOTIVATION
Producting tactile maps is time-consuming process
Two approaches to automate the production:
1/ Image recognition algorithms
• Input: a still image of a 2D map / a hand-drawn map
• Text detection, graphic simplification, etc.
2/ Adaptation of GIS data
• Based on tactile graphics guidelines
• Simplification of existing data
 Output: digital file (SVG) + tactile overlay
Limitations
• How to adapt the symbols to the user’s needs ?
• How to choose the interactions ?
6

7. FUNCTIONALITIES
1/ Selecting the original file (SVG or geographic location)
2/ Choosing the symbols
3/ Adding new points, lines, circles or polygons
4/ Editing or adding labels
5/ Selecting a layer of information
6/ Selecting or adding different pieces of information
7/ Specifying the interaction for each element
7

8. EXAMPLE
8

9. EXAMPLE
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10. BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS
10
Possible to produce interactive tactile maps
• From an SVG file
• From OpenStreetMap
Not fully automatic (editing the symbols, printing the tactile
map, etc.)
 Limits the user’s autonomy
Non editable

11. DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF A
TABLETOP TANGIBLE INTERFACE
11

12. MOTIVATIONS
Providing visually impaired users with
an autonomous and instantaneous access
to interactive maps
and dynamic “visualization”.
To enhance the number of functionalities
(annotation, exploration, distance computing, etc.)
To promptly build a simple map without assistance
Zoom, pan, add or remove objects depending on the
information the user want to access
12

13. TANGIBLE INTERACTION
Tangible interface: when a physical representation is coupled
with a digital representation
ReacTable 1 Clutching at straws 2
1 Jordà et al.,“The reacTable : Exploring the Synergy between …”
2 McGookin et al., “Clutching at Straws: … .” CHI ’10
13

14. CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION OF TANGIBLE MAPS
14
Tangible Reel

15. CONSTRUCTION AND EXPLORATION OF TANGIBLE MAPS
15
Tangible Reel

16. EVALUATION
8 visually impaired users
1/ Construction of 4 maps of increasing complexity
2/ For each map, 3 questions: what are the names of the
start and end points of the line xx ?
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17. RESULTS
Number of success and failures
 27 maps out of 32
were correctly reconstructed
Map 6: 2 minutes
Map 8 & 10: 3.5 minutes
Map 12: 4.5 minutes
 90% of the answers to the exploration questions were correct
17
 283 Tangible Reels
out of 288
were correctly placed

18. FUTURE WORK
18

19. TACTILE GRAPHICS
Extending our work to tactile graphics:
Bar charts
Geometric drawings
Organigrams
Schemas
19Dynamic exploration: zoom, pan, etc.