Comparing Interaction Techniques to Help Blind People Explore Maps on Small Tactile Devices

Mathieu Simonnet (1, 2) , Anke Brock (3, 4) , Antonio Serpa (5, 6) , Bernard Oriola (5, 6) , Christophe Jouffrais (5, 6, 7)

1 LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest
2 IMT Atlantique - LUSSI - Département Logique des Usages, Sciences sociales et Sciences de l'Information
3 ENAC - Ecole Nationale de l'Aviation Civile
4 Potioc - Popular interaction with 3d content
5 IRIT-ELIPSE - Etude de L’Interaction Personne SystèmE
6 CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
7 IPAL - Image & Pervasive Access Lab

Exploring geographic maps on touchscreens is a difficult task in the absence of vision as those devices miss tactile cues. Prior research has therefore introduced non-visual interaction techniques designed to allow visually impaired people to explore spatial configurations on tactile devices. In this paper, we present a study in which six blind and six blindfolded sighted participants evaluated three of those interaction techniques compared to a screen reader condition. We observed that techniques providing guidance result in a higher user satisfaction and more efficient exploration. Adding a grid-like structure improved the estimation of distances. None of the interaction techniques improved the reconstruction of the spatial configurations. The results of this study allow improving the design of non-visual interaction techniques that support a better exploration and memorization of maps in the absence of vision.

Mots clés: Spatial cognition; Touchscreen; Visual impairment; Interaction; Accessibility

Domaines: Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

Mathieu Simonnet, Anke Brock, Antonio Serpa, Bernard Oriola, Christophe Jouffrais. Comparing Interaction Techniques to Help Blind People Explore Maps on Small Tactile Devices. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2019, 3 (2), pp.27. ⟨10.3390/mti3020027⟩. ⟨hal-02106469⟩