scholarly journals TouchIt3D: Technology (not only) for Tactile Maps

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Radek Barvir ◽  
Alena Vondrakova ◽  
Jan Brus
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Spatial Context ◽  
User Needs ◽  
The Real ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Map Symbol ◽  
Tactile Maps

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The majority of information has a spatial context that can be represented on the map, while maps are presenting the real world in the simplified and generalised way, focusing on the key features or specific topic. For some kinds of users, the map as the representation of the real spatial context is not only the possibility but also the necessity. Among these people belong people with visual impairments.</p><p> The number of visually impaired people increases every year and to their full-fledged integration into society is devoted considerable attention. But People with visual impairments are the target group with specific user needs, and the conventional map is insufficient for them. Along the growing number of visually impaired people importance of tactile cartography is increasing.</p><p> Currently, there are many technologies used for creating tactile maps, including very primitive and cheap solutions as well as advanced methods. The simplest way is drawing on the hand which brings only the real-time perception which needs to memorise for next uses. Another technique of hand embroidery consists of thick fibre placed on the cardboard or different paper type. More accurate is drawing on a special paper for blind or using dense colour gels. Also, some kinds of machinery producing technologies are used, e.g: shaping carton, plastic or metal. Braille printers can produce not very complicated tactile maps using 3D dots. Similar results can be obtained using serigraphy. Very popular is printing on heat-sensitive paper as mentioned before in the case of haptic maps by Mapy.cz. Another possibility is to use rubberized colours and nowadays popular technology of 3D printing (Vozenilek and Ludikova, 2010).</p><p> At the Department of Geoinformatics, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Czechia, the research team developed prototypes and methodology for the creation of the modern type of 3D tactile maps, linkable with mobile devices (Barvir et al., 2018).Interactive tactile maps connectable with mobile devices bring new opportunities to develop tactile map production. The prototypes have been verified in practice in cooperation with educational centres for people with visual impairment and blind people, and special schools. It is comprehensive research focusing a lot of scientific challenges. The contribution would like to summarise the most significant findings of the research.</p><p> The developed TouchIt3D technology is based on linking 3D objects, such as tactile maps, 3D models, controls, etc., with a mobile tablet or mobile phone using a combination of conductive and non-conductive filament. Each model is linked to an individual mobile application layout that initiates a pre-action based on user suggestions done within touching the model. For example, such an action may be a vibration or a speech command when the person with visual impairment touch inappropriate map symbol. As example can be introduced a listing of current public transport departures after the user touches the bus-stop map symbol on the 3D transport terminal plan. Data can be acquired in real time via Internet as the tablet can be connected to WiFi or cellular network. TouchIt3D technology is primarily focused on the presentation of spatial data and navigation for the public, people with visual or other impairment.</p><p> There are two ways how to create such tactile map. The first way is to prepare all the data manually. Another approach is the semi-automatic workflow. This approach is significantly different from previous workflows of producing maps for people with visual impairment. The solution based on the open-source and free software and data together with sharing electronic part of the map in the form of tablet dramatically lowered costs of tactile maps production. The designed scripts and models also reduced the time necessary to spend by map designing up to a minimum. User testing provided all data required for the improvement, and maximal adaptation of the cartographic visualisation methods to the target user needs. Nevertheless, maps partly automatically done and based on crowdsourcing data cannot bring the same quality as individually made tactile maps.</p><p> The main aim of the research is to find a workflow of interactive tactile maps creation using the TouchIt3D technology. The research also deals with setting appropriate parameters of the map, e.g. the map scale, cartographic symbol size, map content etc. This optimisation is done to fit the needs of people with visual impairment as much as possible on the one hand and taking into account the limitations of the map creation possibilities.</p><p>This research is implemented within the project <i>Development of independent movement through tactile-auditory aids</i>, Nr. TL01000507, supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.</p>

scholarly journals Materialita pohybu: vztah mezi nevidomostí a městským prostorem

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Porkertová
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Other Information ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Impaired Person

This article thematizes relations between visual impairment and urban space, drawing from the analytical perspective of actor-network theory (ANT). It traces the ways in which visually impaired people create specific connections with space and how they transform it. Urban space is configured for use by able-bodied persons, for whom movement within it is easy and seems to be disembodied. However, for those who defy the standardization of space, the materiality of movement is constantly present and visible, because the passages are difficult to make and are not ready in advance. These materialities, as well as the strategies that people use to make connections with urban space, differ according to the assemblages that visually impaired people create. A route is different with a cane, a human companion, a guide dog, or the use of a combination of such assistance; the visually impaired person pays attention to different clues, follows specific lines, and other information is important and available. Each configuration makes it possible or impossible to do something; this shows disability as dynamic, and demonstrates the collective nature of action, which is more visible and palpable in the case of a disabled person.

scholarly journals Echolocation, as a method supporting spatial orientation and independent movement of people with visual impairment

2019 ◽  
pp. 353-371
Author(s):  
KAMILA MILER-ZDANOWSKA
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Spatial Orientation ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Blind People ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
The World ◽  
Impaired People

Kamila Miler-Zdanowska, Echolocation, as a method supporting spatial orientation and independent movement of people with visual impairment. Interdisciplinary Contexts of Special Pedagogy, no. 25, Poznań 2019. Pp. 353-371. Adam MickiewiczUniversity Press. ISSN 2300-391X. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/ikps.2019.25.15 People with visual impairment use information from other senses to gain knowledge about the world around them. More and more studies conducted withthe participation of visually impaired people indicate that data obtained through auditory perception is extremely important. In this context, the ability of echolocation used by blind people to move independently is interesting. The aim of the article is to present echolocation as a method supporting spatial orientation of people with visual impairment. The article presents the results of empirical studies of echolocation. It also presents the benefits of using this ability in everyday life and signals research projects related to the methodology of teaching echolocation in Poland. People with visually impaired to get knowledge about the world around them use information from other senses. Many studies conducted with the participation of visually impaired people indicate that data obtained through hearing are extremely important. In this context, the ability of echolocation used by blind people to move independently is interesting. The aim of the article is to present echolocation as a method supporting spatial orientation of people with visual disabilities. The article presents the results of empirical studies on echolocation. It also presents the benefits of using this skill in everyday life and signals research projects on themethodology of teaching echolocation in Poland.

scholarly journals INFERRING THE SCALE AND CONTENT OF A MAP USING DEEP LEARNING

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B4-2020 ◽  
pp. 17-24
Author(s):  
G. Touya ◽  
F. Brisebard ◽  
F. Quinton ◽  
A. Courtial
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Deep Learning ◽  
Convolutional Neural Networks ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
The Other ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Tactile Maps

Abstract. Visually impaired people cannot use classical maps but can learn to use tactile relief maps. These tactile maps are crucial at school to learn geography and history as well as the other students. They are produced manually by professional transcriptors in a very long and costly process. A platform able to generate tactile maps from maps scanned from geography textbooks could be extremely useful to these transcriptors, to fasten their production. As a first step towards such a platform, this paper proposes a method to infer the scale and the content of the map from its image. We used convolutional neural networks trained with a few hundred maps from French geography textbooks, and the results show promising results to infer labels about the content of the map (e.g. ”there are roads, cities and administrative boundaries”), and to infer the extent of the map (e.g. a map of France or of Europe).

scholarly journals The impact of visual impairment on nutritional status: A systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabila Jones ◽  
Hannah Bartlett
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Status ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this review was to evaluate the literature that has investigated the impact of visual impairment on nutritional status. We identified relevant articles through a multi-staged systematic approach. Fourteen articles were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. The sample size of the studies ranged from 9 to 761 participants. It was found that visual impairment significantly affects nutritional status. The studies reported that visually impaired people have an abnormal body mass index (BMI); a higher prevalence of obesity and malnutrition was reported. Visually impaired people find it difficult to shop for, eat, and prepare meals. Most studies had a small sample size, and some studies did not include a study control group for comparison. The limitations of these studies suggest that the findings are not conclusive enough to hold true for only those who are visually impaired. Further studies with a larger sample size are required with the aim of developing interventions.

scholarly journals Mobile Braille Touch Application for Visually Impaired People using Double Diamond Approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 15007
Author(s):  
Rony Aldhea Dwi Cahya ◽  
Anik Nur Handayani ◽  
Aji Prasetya Wibawa
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
User Needs ◽  
User Experiences ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Perfect System ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Double Diamond

Reading and writing in Braille learning using technology for visually impaired people has been available in various forms. One of Braille learning has been developed using smartphone is Mobile Braille Touch (MBT) application. MBT developed is far from perfect, system on MBT still use static keyboard. The button touch in MBT is not effective, so the user cannot touch the button properly. Therefore, Mobile Braille Touch application further developed based on user experiences (UX) correspond with user needs. In this research, we use a Double Diamond method which consists of (1) Discover, (2) Define, (3) Develop, (4) Delivery. The result of this research is developing of new Virtual Braille Keyboard (VBK) that called as dynamic keyboard. This VBK consist of dynamic dot braille and swipe writing assisted button.

Wayfinding tasks in visually impaired people: the role of tactile maps

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. 168-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierluigi Caddeo ◽  
Ferdinando Fornara ◽  
Anna Maria Nenci ◽  
Amelia Piroddi
Keyword(s):  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Tactile Maps

scholarly journals Vizuální nevědomí: vizuální organizace nevizuálního města

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Osman ◽  
Pavel Doboš
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Felix Guattari ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Visual Organization ◽  
Visual Percept ◽  
Optical Unconscious

This article focuses on the organization of space. The practices through which we grasp and conceive space are the paper’s concern. Practices emanating from the visual organization of space are usually so commonplace for seeing people so that these practices are only poorly reflected in seeing people’s understandings of space. This is why we turn to the experience of visually impaired people. Our understanding of this experience is based on interviews with 16 communication partners from Prague and Brno in 2014 and 2015. We use the poststructuralist approach of philosopher Gilles Deleuze, psychoanalyst Félix Guattari and geographer Marcus Doel to interpret the interviews and we show that visual impairment is not about non-seeing, but about becoming seeing differently – via the non-visual percept. Yet, such practices of seeing space differently are still shaped by the modern collective optical unconscious. Doel asserts that this unconscious has been structured by the medium of film, among others, and the film technique of montage. This has made the optical unconscious obscene. Montage unbound time and space from their firm coordinates and enabled seeing beyond screened frames. This strengthened the incorporeality of spatial experience. Visually impaired people’s practices of seeing and dealing with the optical unconscious accentuate the corporeality of sight again, however. Their practices fuse the seeing via non-visual percept and the optical unconscious into new configurations, demonstrating that no way of seeing can be incorporeal.

scholarly journals Vita käppen – redskapet som hjälper och stjälper

Budkavlen ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 ◽  
pp. 39-64
Author(s):  
Maria Bäckman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Physical Object ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Visual Damage ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
Rejection Mechanism ◽  
White Cane ◽  
Ambivalent Relationship

The White Cane – A tool that both helps and hinders Bodies, shame, normality and the agency of objects   Maria Bäckman   The article discusses the attempts of visually impaired individuals tosometimes pass as seeing. The background is the resistance that many blind or visually impaired people testify they feel, during their ongoingrehabilitation, about a white cane. Often, on these occasions they provid descriptions of dramatic narratives in which the user explains what it was like when they first realized that it was now really time to start using a cane (for example: When I fell in the water from the quay, or stepped out in front of a bus, etc.). However, many also relate the way a cane, even in more mundane contexts, makes the individual’s visual inability obvious to others and thereby makes the person particularly vulnerable. The tool that connects the visually impaired with the outside world is thus also a material expression which makes both the visual damage and the cane usersmore noticeable as less than a fully functional individual.By holding on to the materiality of the cane and its nature of being a physical object, our understanding can be increased of the ambivalent relationship that many visually impaired people develop with a white cane. On the basis of social materiality studies and the concept of ableism, taken from critical handicap research, the article shows how the use of a white cane takes place in a public space; a space where the user variously inhabits an “imaginary” full-sighted body and another, existing body, which on the contrary is characterized by its weakened vision. However, it is important to realize that the persistent rejection mechanism that many visually impaired people have for a cane is intimately linked to ableism and existing norms of bodily functions. A desire to repel an object that reduces one to something else, and consequently to a somewhat lower standing, is a perfectly reasonable reaction to a deeply rooted social conflict. For many people with visual impairment, the resistance to a white cane must therefore be understood as a refusal to embody a functional normative failure.

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