Abstract:

Space and its perception are commonplace for people without visual impairment, but people with visual impairment have difficulties in perceiving space and spatial relationships. These difficulties or differences from the majority are caused by the inability to form an idea of the whole at once, the inability to view the whole and thus the distortion of spatial relationships and their influence by sound, visual residue, or information from the guide. In this paper, we would like to present the possibilities of influencing and affecting the formation of spatial representations in people with visual impairments through both audio-tactile maps and 3D models with auditory elements.

The paper will present the outcomes of two projects that focused on the given tools and during the presentation, the tools will be demonstrated. It will also be shown how they can be used in the field and how the target group of respondents reacted to them. Both projects build on the connection of models and maps printed on 3D printers and through special software and conductive parts of the models connected to a tablet or mobile phone.

Keywords:

People with visual impairment, 3D maps, audio-tactile maps, 3D print.