Display and Use of Station Floor Plans on 2D Pin Matrix Displays for Blind and Visually Impaired People

Gaspar Ramôa, Omar Moured, Karin Müller, Thorsten Schwarz, Rainer Stiefelhagen

Abstract: Two-dimensional(2d) data access is crucial in connecting people with blindness and visual impairment (BVI) with the rest of the world. Such 2d information includes, for example, floor plans of train stations provided by transportation networks to help travellers navigate and understand a train station and its surroundings, but these documents are not yet accessible. Existing assistive technologies, such as 2d pin-matrix displays, offer new possibilities here to present 2d information via a refreshable tactile pin-matrix display and audio feedback. However, user interfaces that enable people with BVI to perceive the shape and content of information are still not yet fully functional and explored. This paper presents a workflow for converting PDF files of station floor plans provided by transportation networks into an accessible Scalable Vector Graphics format (SVG). Those files are not only usable for 2d pin-matrix displays but can also be printed on swell paper or can be embossed and used in 2d tactile graphic readers. Moreover, we propose a new user interface for 2d refreshable pin-matrix devices that enables people with BVI to interact with train station floor plans. This user interface was implemented for Inventivio GmbH’s Tactonom pin-matrix device (V1) and supports moving, navigating to elements and zooming in SVG train station map documents. Further work includes implementing new features to reduce the complexity and information overload on a tactile surface.