This chapter explores how pin-array displays enable visually impaired users to access spatial information across scales through specialized tactile maps. It details the design of standardized tactile symbols (tactons) for encoding geographic features, obstacles, and user position (“You-Are-Here” markers). The HBMap system leverages OpenStreetMap data to render interactive outdoor city maps on displays (e.g., Hyperflat), supporting panning, zooming, and tap-to-speech identification of streets/POIs. For real-time navigation, GPS-integrated YAH maps orient users within a 150–160 m radius. Indoor accessibility is addressed through floorplans with audio-tactile room descriptions and obstacle maps that encode object dimensions/types using reference grids and symbols—though exploration speed remains a challenge. Route navigation employs blinking pins and directional textures to trace paths, enhancing wayfinding efficiency. Evaluations confirm users successfully locate themselves, identify surroundings, and trace routes using these systems. Future work should integrate multi-scale maps (outdoor-indoor transitions) and refine dynamic route representation. Collectively, these advancements transform pin-array displays into comprehensive spatial awareness tools, democratizing access to environmental navigation for the visually impaired.

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Exploring Outdoor and Indoor Tactile Maps

  • Limin Zeng,
  • Gerhard Weber

摘要

This chapter explores how pin-array displays enable visually impaired users to access spatial information across scales through specialized tactile maps. It details the design of standardized tactile symbols (tactons) for encoding geographic features, obstacles, and user position (“You-Are-Here” markers). The HBMap system leverages OpenStreetMap data to render interactive outdoor city maps on displays (e.g., Hyperflat), supporting panning, zooming, and tap-to-speech identification of streets/POIs. For real-time navigation, GPS-integrated YAH maps orient users within a 150–160 m radius. Indoor accessibility is addressed through floorplans with audio-tactile room descriptions and obstacle maps that encode object dimensions/types using reference grids and symbols—though exploration speed remains a challenge. Route navigation employs blinking pins and directional textures to trace paths, enhancing wayfinding efficiency. Evaluations confirm users successfully locate themselves, identify surroundings, and trace routes using these systems. Future work should integrate multi-scale maps (outdoor-indoor transitions) and refine dynamic route representation. Collectively, these advancements transform pin-array displays into comprehensive spatial awareness tools, democratizing access to environmental navigation for the visually impaired.