Dataset Information

Applying height differentiation of tactile symbols to reduce the minimum horizontal distances between them on tactile maps.

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we wanted to verify the hypothesis that extruding cartographic symbols on tactile maps to different heights might allow reducing the minimum (suggested in the literature) horizontal distances between them, without impacting the overall map's legibility. This approach might allow preparing tactile maps in smaller scales and thus, reducing production cost, or putting additional spatial information on the same map sheet that would not fit otherwise. To verify the hypothesis we have prepared 6 different stimuli variants with or without height differentiation applied and different horizontal distances between tactile symbols adopted (1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm). In the controlled study sessions with 30 participants with visual impairments we have measured the times required for solving 3 different spatial tasks on 3D printed tactile stimuli. We have also performed qualitative analysis to learn participants' opinions about the proposed design and materials used. It turns out that applying height differentiation not only results in shorter times required for solving spatial tasks but is also considered by blind individuals as a convenient improvement in terms of use comfort and allows reduction of recommended minimum horizontal distances between symbols on tactile maps.

SUBMITTER: Wabinski J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8880946 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Applying height differentiation of tactile symbols to reduce the minimum horizontal distances between them on tactile maps.

Wabiński Jakub J Śmiechowska-Petrovskij Emilia E Mościcka Albina A

PloS one 20220225 2

In this paper, we wanted to verify the hypothesis that extruding cartographic symbols on tactile maps to different heights might allow reducing the minimum (suggested in the literature) horizontal distances between them, without impacting the overall map's legibility. This approach might allow preparing tactile maps in smaller scales and thus, reducing production cost, or putting additional spatial information on the same map sheet that would not fit otherwise. To verify the hypothesis we have p ...[more]

PMID: 35213662

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Project description:We have recently shown that vision is important to improve spatial auditory cognition. In this study, we investigate whether touch is as effective as vision to create a cognitive map of a soundscape. In particular, we tested whether the creation of a mental representation of a room, obtained through tactile exploration of a 3D model, can influence the perception of a complex auditory task in sighted people. We tested two groups of blindfolded sighted people - one experimental and one control group - in an auditory space bisection task. In the first group, the bisection task was performed three times: specifically, the participants explored with their hands the 3D tactile model of the room and were led along the perimeter of the room between the first and the second execution of the space bisection. Then, they were allowed to remove the blindfold for a few minutes and look at the room between the second and third execution of the space bisection. Instead, the control group repeated for two consecutive times the space bisection task without performing any environmental exploration in between. Considering the first execution as a baseline, we found an improvement in the precision after the tactile exploration of the 3D model. Interestingly, no additional gain was obtained when room observation followed the tactile exploration, suggesting that no additional gain was obtained by vision cues after spatial tactile cues were internalized. No improvement was found between the first and the second execution of the space bisection without environmental exploration in the control group, suggesting that the improvement was not due to task learning. Our results show that tactile information modulates the precision of an ongoing space auditory task as well as visual information. This suggests that cognitive maps elicited by touch may participate in cross-modal calibration and supra-modal representations of space that increase implicit knowledge about sound propagation.

Dataset Information

Applying height differentiation of tactile symbols to reduce the minimum horizontal distances between them on tactile maps.

Publications

Applying height differentiation of tactile symbols to reduce the minimum horizontal distances between them on tactile maps.

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