A Prototype Interactive Tactile Display with Auditory Feedback

Date
2014-09-01
Authors
O'Sullivan, Liam
Picinali, Lorenzo
Cawthorne, Douglas
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
DOI
Volume Title
Publisher
Dublin City University
Peer reviewed
Abstract
Tactile surfaces can display useful information in a variety of applications for blind, visually-impaired and even sighted users. One example is the use of paper-based tactile maps as navigational aids for interior and exterior spaces; visually- impaired individuals may use these to practice and learn a route prior to journeying. The addition of an interactive auditory display could enhance such tactile interfaces by providing additional information. This paper presents pre- liminary work on a prototype multi-modal interface which tracks the actions of a user’s hands over a tactile surface and responds with sonic feedback. The initial application being considered is an Auditory Tactile Map (ATM); the auditory display provides verbalised information as well as environmental sounds useful for navigation. Another pro- posed implementation adds interactivity to reproductions of museum exhibits, making these more accessible to the visually-impaired and allowing exploration of their tactile affordances while preserving the original works.
Description
Liam O’Sullivan School of Engineering Trinity College Dublin, Lorenzo Picinali Faculty of Technology De Montfort University Leicester, Douglas Cawthorne Digital Building Heritage Group De Montfort University Leicester.
Keywords
Tactile Interface, Auditory Interface
Citation
O'Sullivan, L., Picinali, L. and Cawthorne, D. (2014) A Prototype Interactive Tactile Display with Auditory Feedback. In: Rami Albatal et al. eds. Proceedings of the 8th Irish Human Computer Interaction Conference, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland.
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