Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training of

visually impaired people—a technical paper on the

Internet-based tactile and audio-tactile mapping

EVA SIEKIERSKA, RICHARD LABELLE, LOUIS BRUNET, BILL MCCURDY and PETER PULSIFERMapping Services Branch, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (email: siekiers@nrcan.gc.ca)

MONIKA K. RIEGERDepartment of Geography, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

LINDA O’NEILLinda O’Neil & Associates Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Thanks to advances in technology such as Internet-

based mapping and the development of special inks,

papers and global positioning systems, map making

for vision impaired people can provide a range of

products (e.g., tactile, haptic and audio-tactile maps)

that can improve their independence, self-confidence

and everyday life. The applications of tactile maps

include learning spatial concepts and geography;

audio-tactile maps combined with access to

geospatial information can enhance mobility and

independence. In 1998, the Mapping Services Branch

(MSB) of the Earth Sciences Sector of Natural

Resources Canada initiated a tactile mapping

program. Now referred to as the Government on

Line—Mapping for the Visually Impaired Project

(Natural Resources Canada 2003a), it aims to serve

the community with special needs, with emphasis on

those who are blind or visually impaired, their

teachers and mobility instructors. This technical

paper discusses the various types of tactile and

audio-tactile maps of Canada developed by the MSB

in cooperation with its partners and describe the

current research and development activities

carried out within the project. It also leads the

reader to further information on audio-tactile

maps and touch- and sound-based computer

interfaces.

Grace au nouveaux developpements technologiques,

tels que la cartographie sur le web, le developpement

d’encres et de papiers speciaux, les systemes de

positionnement global (GPS), la cartographie pour

deficients visuels offre maintenant une gamme de

produits (cartes tactiles, haptiques et audio-tactiles)

qui peut avoir un effet benefique sur leur

independance, leur confiance en soi et leurs activites

quotidiennes. L’utilisation de cartes tactiles aide a

l’apprentissage de concepts spaciaux et

geographiques. Les cartes audio-tactiles utilisees de

concert avec un acces a l’information geo-spatiale

peut augmenter la mobilite et l’independance des

utilisateurs. En 1998, la Direction des services

cartographiques (DSC) du Secteur des sciences de la

terre de Ressources naturelles Canada a entrepris un

programme de cartographie tactile. Ce programme,

maintenant connu sous le nom de Programme de

Cartographie pour les deficients visuels (Ressources

Naturelles Canada 2003), veut servir la communaute

de personnes qui ont des besoins speciaux, en

particulier les aveugles, les deficients visuels ainsi

que leurs enseignants et agents de mobilite. Ce

document technique decrira les differents types de

cartes tactiles et audio-tactiles sur des themes

canadiens developpes par DSC en collaboration avec

ses partenaires. Il decrira la recherche presentement

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003) 480–493

� / Canadian Association of Geographers / L’Association canadienne des geographes

en cours ainsi que les activites de developpement

qui font parti du projet. Il inclue egalement de

l’information supplementaire au sujet des cartes

audio-tactiles et des interfaces ayant une

composante tactile ou sonore.

Introduction

While we do not know a great deal about how the

blind perceive space, we do know that blind people

know less about geospatial configuration and the

location of objects in space than do sighted

people, as this knowledge is generally acquired

by seeing. This makes everyday tasks extremely

challenging, a result of both the impairment itself

and the fact that most environments are designed

to ‘cue’ sighted people. It is difficult for a blind

person to navigate alone in unknown space, and

only limited efforts have been made to help them

navigate in the built environment. The addition of

multisensory information to maps has also been

limited until recently. In the case of blind and

visually impaired people, there is a growing aware-

ness of the environments that fail to accommodate

the needs of individuals as a result of the ways in

which society and space are organised and devel-

oped. Currently, the Government of Canada is

moving towards delivering programs and informa-

tion over the Internet, and to that end, the Govern-

ment-on-Line (GoL) program (Treasury Board

Canada 2003) was established in 1998 to ensure

that all Canadians can get timely, more affordable

and usable information such as maps, statistical

information, tax forms and health information, to

increase their chances of finding employment and

to facilitate their full participation in the emerging

knowledge-based economy. It has also promised to

‘increase support for the development of new tech-

nologies to assist Canadians with disabilities.’ In

this spirit, the Mapping Services Branch (MSB) of

Natural Resources Canada initiated a tactile map-

ping project in 1998, now known as the Government

on Line—Information and Services for Persons with

Disabilities Cluster—Mapping for the Visually

Impaired Project (Government of Canada 2003).

When the MSB investigated the situation in

Canada, it found that there were very few tactile

maps available for the blind and therefore began

further research in this area, focusing on tactile

maps for education, audio-tactile maps for naviga-

tion and the addition of technologies that will

enhance their delivery (Siekierska et al. 2001).

Since the project is working within the GoL frame-

work, the focus has been placed on the use of the

Internet as a means of map production and distri-

bution. We believe this research project to be

unique in Canada, as no other agency provides

online access to and distribution of tactile maps

on the Internet. While not specifically related to

the development of tactile and audio-tactile

maps, the issue of accessibility to the Internet by

blind and visually impaired users is an important

part of development efforts. As a step towards

ensuring that the services and information pro-

vided by the project are available to all users, a

partnership had been established with Industry

Canada, whose purpose is to leverage efforts cur-

rently being made by Industry Canada’s Commu-

nity Access Program (Industry Canada 2003a) and

Web-4-All initiative (Industry Canada 2003b). The

Community Access Program aims to provide Cana-

dians with affordable public access to the Internet

and the skills needed to use it effectively.

The main purpose of this technical paper is to

inform readers about the initiation of the inter-

departmental tactile mapping project (carried out

within the Government on Line, Information and

Services for People with Disabilities Program), to

share the results obtained thus far and to obtain

feedback from others working in similar fields.

It is hoped that cooperation established through

knowledge sharing may lead, in the long term, to a

more systematic and theoretically sound approach

in the development of tactile and audio-tactile

maps, as well as the user interfaces needed to

read such maps in the Internet environment.

Cartography and Visually ImpairedMap Users

Geographic/cartographic perspectives

As a discipline, geography has paid relatively

little attention to disabled people with regards

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training 481

to the nature of the environments they occupy

(Golledge 1993). Social geographers have focused

attention on the poor, ethnic groups, those living

with various illnesses and the homeless, but they

have not, until recently, been much concerned

about the disabled. There are a number of

perspectives now used by social geographers

(Gleeson 1996, 1999; Golledge 1996; Imrie 1996;

Dear et al. 1997; Parr and Butler 1999) to under-

stand impairment (defined as a functional limita-

tion, e.g., missing a limb) and disability (the

inability of the impaired person to perform the

activities usually performed by a nonimpaired

person). Disagreement arises as to the cause of

the disablement—the impairment itself or the

society (its attitudes, environment, economic

structure, etc.) in which the person lives. If the

impairment were the only disabling factor, then a

medical or technological solution that ‘fixes’ the

person would be in order. If the society disables,

then it must do the changing since technological

and medical solutions alone will not improve the

person’s lot.

Some researchers of the sociospatial perspective

do admit that not all disablement is caused by

society (Dear et al. 1997) and that technology has

‘some value’ in improving aspects of daily life (Parr

and Butler 1999). The authors believe that, while

there are many societal factors that cause disable-

ment, impairment itself can also disable and that

technology can alleviate disabilities by solving

some of the access to spatial information problems

(in the areas of education and mobility) of the

visually impaired, thereby improving some

aspects of their daily lives. We do not presume

that this research, or its products, will change

societal barriers (in terms of prejudices, economic

barriers or similar realities) that may be disabling

these persons. The primary focus in tactile map-

ping has tended to be on production methods and

materials and less on providing instruction on the

use of tactile maps, making the user population

aware of the products, or evaluating the products

(Golledge 1993). This applied research project,

while focusing on the production of maps in

the Internet environment, is also concerned

with the latter components of tactile mapping

research. We hope this results in more researchers

working on tactile mapping and more users who

are aware of and have access to tactile maps of all

types. If some societal barriers do change as

a result, it will be an unintended, but very welcome,

benefit.

Research on tactile graphics

A number of cartographers have, for many dec-

ades, been involved in improving the lifestyle and

the quality of life of disabled persons through

research into and development of tactile maps

and graphics for blind and visually impaired

users (Coulson 1991; Tatham 1991; Vasconcellos

1996). They have made use of the research under-

taken by psychologists, cognitive scientists and

geographers (over almost 40 years) which investi-

gated the cognitive and perceptual abilities of

adventitiously and congenitally blind subjects using

tactile diagrams, graphics and maps (Lederman

1979; Dodds 1989; Hampson and Daly 1989;

Passini et al. 1990; Ungar et al. 1997; Blades et al.

1999; Golledge et al. 1999). A number of theories

have been proposed regarding the spatial under-

standing of blind and visually impaired people

(Kitchin et al. 1997). Some current thoughts sug-

gest that such people ‘possess the same abilities to

process and understand spatial concepts’ as

sighted people (Kitchin et al. 1997).

For some time, maps have been created using

found materials—string, beads, sandpaper, wire

and similar items. Recently, other materials have

been developed, including thermoformed plas-

tics, foaming ink, multitextural materials and

microcapsule paper (Andrews 1985; Turner and

Sherman 1986; Dacen 1987; Gardner 1996). Tactile

maps are sometimes used along with a speech

synthesiser and touch pad (see the Nomad system

described in Parkes 1988; the new version of this

system is marketed as Tactile Graphics Designer

[TGD]; also Coulson et al. 1991; Jacobson and

Kitchin 1997; Jacobson 1998) that allow for the

addition of auditory information. The auditory

information provides the user with more informa-

tion than can possibly be annotated (using Braille

or large text) on the tactile map itself. Another

example of this technology is the BATS (blind

audio tactile mapping system) project, in which

researchers added auditory icons and speech

‘call-outs’ in three dimensions as well as haptic

feedback devices (these combine tactile percep-

tion with kinesthetic sensing) to provide addi-

tional map information (Parente and Bishop

2003). These systems use digital geographic data;

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

482 Eva Siekierska et al.

however, there is still another type of digital geo-

graphic data, namely maps available on the Inter-

net, that blind and visually impaired persons

cannot access. Research is ongoing regarding

the potential of new graphics languages such as

VRML (virtual reality modeling language) and SVG

(scalable vector graphics) to make graphical infor-

mation accessible (Bulatov and Gardner 1998,

1999; Gardner and Bulatov 2001). Such advances

may finally allow blind and visually impaired

persons to access the vast amount of real-time

data that are available to sighted persons with

Internet access.

A number of research centres have been generat-

ing interest in the topic of way-finding needs and

abilities of the visually impaired population, which

has led to work on Personal Guidance Systems

(PGS). While these are not normally thought of as

tactile maps, they do aid the mobility needs of this

population. PGSs combine a Geographic Informa-

tion Systems (GIS) for the database component and

global positioning system (GPS) technology for the

location requirements, and together, these tech-

nologies enable a blind user to move through an

unknown environment. The Research Unit on Spa-

tial Cognition and Choice (RUSCC) at the University

of California Santa Barbara has done a great deal of

work on this topic (Golledge et al. 1991, 1998;

Loomis et al. 1998). Research has also been

conducted at the University of Wales, Swansea

(Jacobson 1994) and through the (now completed)

MoBIC Project (Douglas et al. 1997). The Sendero

Group has developed GPS Talk and Atlas Graphics,

and VisuAide of Canada has recently published

PGS called Victor Trekker.

Research is needed to solve the many remaining

technical issues pertaining to the accessibility of

Internet-based geospatial data and the production

and use of tactile and audio-tactile maps (regard-

less of the source of the data). Also needed is

research on how to effectively and efficiently

(from a cognitive perspective) convey geospatial

information to blind and visually impaired per-

sons and how they understand and make use of

this information. Research on these topics is

ongoing at multiple sites such as the University

of Minnesota (Minnesota Laboratory for Low

Vision), the University of California Santa Barbara

(RUSCC and a link to the Haptic Soundscapes site),

Sheffield University (the Psychology Department’s

Research on Tactile Maps), Western Michigan

University (Department of Blindness and Low

Vision Studies), the University of Maryland, the

University of Hertfordshire (Sensory Disabilities

Research Unit and a link to the National Centre

for Tactile Diagrams), Oregon State University

(The Science Access Project) and the University of

Toronto (Adaptive Technology Resource Centre).

Types of cartographic products needed

Tactile maps and graphics are an important

resource as they can enable blind persons to

obtain images of the world and to become

acquainted with its changing (geographic and spa-

tial) realities. Ideally, all of the types of maps avail-

able to sighted users should also become available

in the tactile format, including thematic, reference

and mobility maps. Reference and thematic maps

are required for educational purposes (primarily

for children but also for adults). Tactile maps can

significantly help blind and visually impaired

users, as such persons would otherwise not have

access to standard educational aids, including

maps and atlases, to learn subjects such as geogra-

phy and earth sciences.

In addition to learning about distant environ-

ments, tactile maps can also provide blind and

visually impaired users with developing an under-

standing of their immediate surroundings

(Morsley and Spencer 1988). Mobility maps, for

example, can help users navigate both interior

and exterior environments by depicting the space

in a simplified, readable format that includes the

necessary location cues. Thus, the use of geospa-

tial technology can help blind and visually

impaired users become aware of their immediate

environments and live more independently by

allowing them to negotiate these environments

without assistance (Jacobson 1994). These environ-

ments need not only be those pertaining to a user’s

residence or place of work. Visually impaired

tourists, for example, would also benefit from

tactile maps of their destinations. Tatham (1990)

reported on the production of a tactile map of the

London Underground which was designed to

increase the accessibility of this transit option to

visually impaired tourists. Studies of mobility

maps (Ungar et al. 1997; Blades et al. 1999) have

shown that visually impaired map users can effect-

ively learn routes through an unfamiliar area with

the use of tactile maps.

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training 483

Recent advances in geospatial technologies (e.g.,

the transfer of analog maps to digital format, GIS

and Internet maps) have led to new, innovative

cartographic methods being developed for maps

of all types (Jacobson 1998). It has often been

pointed out that while some of these develop-

ments, e.g., voice-based interfaces (those not

requiring reading/writing as input/output meth-

ods), can be of benefit to the entire population,

the impact of these new technologies on the blind

and visually impaired community can be even

more significant. Such benefit can be illustrated

by the audio-tactile map-reading system which

uses tactile maps combined with speech to label

the features to overcome the print barrier (Bulatov

and Gardner 1998).

Maps Developed and Produced at theMapping Services Branch

Techniques used for the production of prototypes

Recent advances in technology, specifically Inter-

net-based mapping and new types of papers and

inks, have resulted in tactile map production

methods that are simpler and more cost-effective

than old methods using found materials or ther-

moformed plastics. The use of microcapsule paper

is increasing because it is a quick, effective

method of creating ‘one-off’ images. Microcapsule

(also called ‘swell’) paper has a layer of plastic on

top that contains tiny alcohol bubbles. A black and

white image is copied onto the microcapsule paper

that is then passed through a thermal enhancer (an

infrared heating device) that creates a raised

image. The heat causes the alcohol bubbles to

expand under those parts of the image covered in

black.

Tactile Vision Inc., a Canadian company, recently

developed an ‘ink’ (a polymer) that rises when

heated and hardens to produce very detailed line-

work. One advantage of this technique is that maps

can be printed on ordinary paper. It produces

sharp and durable images that are easy to read by

touch technology, and the process is about 50 per-

cent more cost-effective than microcapsule paper.

User tests were conducted with blind students and

teachers at several schools including the W. Ross

Macdonald School, located in Brantford, Ontario,

which is the largest residential school for the

blind in Canada; Ottawa-Carleton district schools

that have special education programs for the blind

and visually impaired; Centre Jules-Leger, a small

school for the blind in Ottawa, Ontario; and the

Jacques Ouellette School for the Blind, Longueuil,

Quebec. This user testing was conducted using

structured interviews that investigated prototype

maps and solicited opinions of teachers and

students. Approximately 25 teachers and more

than 100 students were interviewed at these

schools before the final decisions on map

content and map symbology were made. Records

of these interviews are included in Appendix E of

Project Report—Tactile and Audio-Tactile Mapping

(Siekierska and Labelle 2001). When asked to eval-

uate the tactile atlas of Canada, the students and

teachers interviewed showed a preference for the

raised ink maps over the microcapsule maps

because of the ‘sharp feel’ of the raised ink. The

major drawback is that the printing must be done

at a printing facility because it requires a printing

press which, at the present time, is not portable.

Tactile atlas of Canada

The tactile atlas of Canada was the first tactile map

publication developed at the MSB. This atlas

includes a map of the entire country (showing

only political boundaries) as well as a map of

each province and territory. The latter maps are

more detailed, showing international, national,

provincial and territorial boundaries as well as

major lakes, rivers and main cities. A sample map

of the province of Ontario is shown in Figure1. The

target audiences for the tactile atlas of Canada

were primary and lower secondary (middle) school

students. Such maps were not previously avail-

able, and the W. Ross Macdonald School preor-

dered several copies of the atlas before it was

produced. Blind and low-vision adults who would

like to become familiar with basic geography of

Canada would also find this atlas a useful learning

tool.

The atlas was developed in cooperation with

Tactile Vision Inc., which provided the production

methodology as well as design advice. The general

selection of information and basic graphical repre-

sentation used in the atlas is similar to the maps

previously developed by Tactile Vision Inc. (e.g.,

a tactile atlas of the United States for the Library

of Congress). However, the atlas introduced

several modifications recommended by CNIB (The

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

484 Eva Siekierska et al.

Canadian National Institute for the Blind) Toronto

and by tactile mapping specialists from the Inter-

national Cartographic Association Commission for

Maps and Graphics for Blind and Visually Impaired

Users and the Pan-American Institute of Geography

and History. The final map symbols used in the

atlas were determined by consultations with Tac-

tile Vision Inc. and through the interviews with

both teachers and students at several schools dis-

cussed previously. The overall density of informa-

tion is very low because the atlas was intended for

use by both blind and visually impaired users. All

features have both Braille and large print text

annotations, again because of the dual audiences.

In the atlas’s second edition, the visually low maps

have been separated from the tactile maps, which

facilitates the map printing process and could

potentially reduce the cost of publication.

Students and teachers at the W. Ross Macdonald

School gave the atlas a very positive review; they

particularly liked the size and content of the maps

and the reproduction method. The school

expressed interest in further collaborating with

the MSB to develop a series of Tactile Thematic

Atlases to teach geography within the secondary

school curriculum. At the present time, the MSB is

developing a Canada Geo-Science volume in coop-

eration with Geological Survey of Canada that will

provide the opportunity to work on a set of carto-

graphic symbols for the thematic tactile maps. The

research component of the project includes experi-

mentation with the use of voice annotations to

augment the amount of information conveyed on

the tactile maps.

The tactile atlas of Canada has also been well

received by the professional cartographic commu-

nity. The CNIB was presented with copies of the

atlas for each of its centres in Canada in the spring

of 2003. Through the auspices of the Government

Publications Depository Program, copies of the

Ontario

Thunder BayL Superior

L Huron

Ottawa

L ErieWindsor

L Michigan

USAQC

LO

MB

Hudson Bay

James Bay

200 km

TO

Figure1

The tactile atlas of Canada, province of Ontario

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training 485

atlas will be sent to the main map libraries across

Canada. Copies can also be obtained from the

Canadian Association of Education Resources

(CAER), which specialises in providing educational

material to people with disabilities. Users can also

download the files of the atlas from the Mapping

for Visually Impaired Project web site (Natural

Resources Canada 2003b).

The tactile atlas provincial and territorial maps

were produced by tracing selected features from

the 1 : 6,000,000 digital map of Canada, using the

Corel Draw illustration program. The map of

Canada was produced using the 1 :30,000,000

map file. The selection of Corel Draw was influ-

enced by the popularity of this program at CNIB

centres, as well as by its use by Tactile Vision Inc.,

the company that printed the atlas for hardcopy

publication. The atlas files were sent to Tactile

Vision Inc. via e-mail. The digital files available

for downloading from the MVI project web site

are published in multiple formats—each tactile

map is available in three versions: (1) in text, (2) in

Braille and (3) in Braille combined with text, and

in three computer formats: (a) in GIF (Graphics

Interchange Format) used for previews, (b) in

Corel Draw (CDR format) for downloading and edit-

ing and (c) in PDF (Portable Document Format) for

downloading and printing.

Topographic city area maps for mobility training

Topographic city area maps were produced to

demonstrate how such maps could be used to

enhance mobility by providing users with general

knowledge of the surroundings in which they live

or work. The production of city area maps was

based on the 1 :50,000 topographic map series

produced by the MSB. However, the information

selected for this tactile map (Figure2) was limited

to major features such as main and secondary

streets (represented by continuous lines of varying

thickness) and the main topographic landmarks

such as railways (represented by dashed lines).

Features important for mobility training, such as

the location of buildings, were then added. Only

main streets were annotated in Braille because of

the limited space on this type of tactile map. When

producing these maps, especially in choosing the

amount of information to be included, MSB

researchers collaborated closely with the mobility

training instructors at the CNIB. The recent addi-

tion of audio-tactile and haptic elements to these

maps promises to extend their educational value.

These maps, used online in conjunction with a

digital tablet, make it easier for the user to learn

spatial information by allowing interaction with

the maps.

This map was produced specifically for ‘Angelo’

(a CNIB liaison to the federal government programs

and a congenitally blind man), who has lived in

Ottawa for the past three years. His house is symbo-

lised by a solid square with the address annotated.

After reading the map, Angelo was shocked to

learn that the main street along which he had

been taking the bus on a regular basis actually

turned south before his home. He was also sur-

prised at the amount of open space in his neigh-

borhood and now understood why he could never

walk to the area east of his home—there were no

connecting streets. After viewing a map of down-

town Ottawa he expressed surprise at howwide the

Ottawa River is. His final comment: ‘I have learned

more about Ottawa in the last half hour than I have

in the last three years of living here!’

Most of the mobility training maps were pro-

duced using Corel Draw, a program which is used

in some mobility training centres in Ontario, Nova-

Scotia and Quebec (the provinces with which we

have already established cooperation). Any digital

files can be used as base maps. We used digital

topographic map data available at the MSB, the

Internet map files, as well as digital city map files

from MapArt. The procedure used for the creation

of these maps has been published on the MVI pro-

ject web site (Natural Resources Canada 2003c). A

user manual has been prepared for use by the Web-

4-All and Community Access Programs of Industry

Canada (User Kit 2002). To produce high-quality

tactile maps, the user needs to have a thermal

image enhancer; otherwise, a regular Braille print-

er that has a graphic mode can be used.

Audio-tactile and haptic, multimedia interactivemaps

The Internet environment facilitates the creation

and use of multimedia interactive tactile maps.

These online maps add audio and voice annotation

(text tags read by a screen reader) and haptic fea-

tures, extending the usability and content richness

of their raised ink counterpart. The most useful

characteristic of multimedia maps is the capability

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

486 Eva Siekierska et al.

to add voice annotation to selected map features.

Audio feedback is initiated when the user moves

the cursor (or the finger on a touch tablet) over a

map feature. For example, moving over a water

element causes a splashing sound to be played.

Crossing a provincial boundary initiates a clicking

sound. Haptic effects are added to provide addi-

tional clues for finding and distinguishing various

map features. When a haptic mouse crosses var-

ious map features, the user feels different vibra-

tions. The presence of a sound or a vibration

prompts the user to click on the feature at which

time its name is read by the screen reader. The

ability to add additional information about various

map elements overcomes one of the main draw-

backs of tactile maps—namely the low density of

information on these maps. The use of audio ele-

ments has made it possible to put a large amount

of information into the map without adding to its

visual clutter.

The interactive maps on the MVI web site were

created using the new SVG format that is becoming

a recognised standard for the creation of inter-

activemaps on theWeb. An example of an interactive

map is a map of the city of Iqaluit (Figure3) that

was produced using a map-drawing package

500 Metres NorthHuntclub Park

Walkley Rd

CN Railway

Haw

thor

n R

d

Celini Cr

Johnson Rd

Con

roy

Rd

Huntclub Rd

Blohm Dr

Figure2

Topographic city area map for mobility training

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training 487

(Adobe Illustrator in this case). Two versions of the

Iqaluit map were produced, one using Macromedia

Flash MX and Sonic Soundry’s Sound Forge, and the

other using Illustrator and JavaScript to generate

an interactive SVG map. After comparing the two

approaches, it was decided that continuing with

the SVG technique was best, largely to avoid hav-

ing to record all the audio tags. The SVG file relies

on the screen reader to pick up text tags and read

them out to the user. This reduces production time

substantially. Most of the work performed in Illus-

trator was straight-forward graphic work, which

enhanced the appearance of the drawing, labeling

of its elements and organising its layers in a way

that enabled JavaScript to work optimally. The

interactivity was defined through JavaScript, and

lines of code were added to the SVG file exported

from Illustrator.

Benefits of such a mapping technique are quite

clear to many blind and visually impaired persons.

Once the SVG viewer is installed, the user can

access the MVI web site (Natural Resources Canada

2003d) and find a map of interest in PDF format,

which is used to create a printout. The printout is

run through a thermal enhancer and placed on a

touch tablet. This part requires the help of

a sighted person to register the paper map to its

online counterpart. Once the map is secured in

place, the blind or visually impaired user is able

to ‘visit the map’ using his/her fingers. The whole

experience is intended to be one of discovery,

where the user is encouraged to explore the map.

Figure3 shows an audio-tactile-haptic map of

Iqaluit. Some of its interactive features include

the names of streets (which are spoken when the

feature is clicked) and the presence of a rectangle

(indicated by a dotted line boundary) which, when

clicked, brings a more detailed map of that parti-

cular area of Iqaluit up on the screen. Within this

detailed map, numbers represent various types of

buildings. To find out what the various buildings

on the map are, the user can click on the appropri-

ate number at which point the screen reader will

identify the structure.

Iqaluit 1 km North

AIRPORT

MIVVIK

AKILLIQ

AK

ILLI

Q

CR

YS

TA

L II

NIAQUNNGUSIAQ

Koojesse Inlet

QIYUTA

E LI

Z

ABETH

QUEENSINA A

ABE DPKIK

NIAQUNNGUSIAQ

PALAUGAA

FEDERAL

PAURANGAO

HU

BB

AR

D

IQUALUIT

Figure3

Interactive audio–haptic–tactile map of Iqaluit

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

488 Eva Siekierska et al.

At the present time, the SVG viewer is not

included in the commonly used Web browsers;

however, one can download an SVG browser free

of charge (at the MSB, we use Adobe’s SVG viewer).

Moreover, Microsoft and Netscape plan to include

SVG functionality in future releases of their brow-

sers. All the maps—city approach maps and city

core maps—produced for the Web-4-All project

component (developed in cooperation with Indus-

try Canada) and maps for transportation and tour-

ism (developed in cooperation with Transport

Canada) are available in SVG format (Brunet and

McCurdy 2003). An interactive map of Canada, in

SVG format, is also available on the MVI project

web site (Research and Development, Maps for

Transportation and Tourism, Maps for Web-4-All

sections). These maps highlight some of the

advantages of the SVG format.

Plans for the Future

The Mapping for the Visually Impaired Project web

site has five main components: maps for educa-

tion, maps for mobility, maps for transportation

and tourism, maps for Web-4-All and research

and development. This section of the paper out-

lines the work being planned in each of these

areas.

Maps for education

The project team strongly believes that blind and

visually impaired Canadian children should have

improved access to maps for learning geography,

history or any subject with a spatial component.

The goals include providing every blind and

visually impaired student with access to the tactile

atlas of Canada, as well as to a voice-annotated and

Internet-enabled version. Partnerships with the

educational community and government programs

such as SchoolNet (Industry Canada 2003c) are

being developed to help achieve this goal, particu-

larly the incorporation of tactile maps into school

curricula and making them an integral part of the

SchoolNet program. The MSB also plans to produce

thematic, issue-oriented, tactile and audio-tactile

atlases that may include themes such as popula-

tion, the environment and land use (Fortin 2003).

Other groups within Natural Resources Canada

(NRCan) are interested in developing maps acces-

sible to blind and visually impaired users. The

Geological Survey of Canada, for example, has

expressed interest in developing tactile geological

maps of the country. GeoAccess, a division within

NRCan, is interested in cooperating in the develop-

ment of the Tactile Thematic Atlas of Canada,

linked to its national electronic atlas program. Suc-

cessful completion of these initiatives can move

Canada towards a systematic program to produce

maps for blind and visually impaired students

throughout the country.

Maps for mobility

Staff members of the Mapping for the Visually

Impaired Project have trained CNIB mobility

instructors in Ottawa to produce topographic city

area maps using computer-based methods in the

Internet environment. These instructors have

found that maps greatly assist in mobility training

and have recommended that similar programs be

adopted in other CNIB offices across Canada. The

possibilities of establishing a more widespread

program will depend on further evaluation of the

methods and their adoption by the organisation’s

executive. The MSB is also working to promote the

creation of mobility maps for schools and univer-

sity campuses. At least one Canadian university—

York University in Toronto—has special funds

available for such products. The MSB intends to

approach other universities to identify similar pro-

grams and promote their creation where none

exist.

Technology such as the GPS-based voice guiding

systems may improve the mobility of the blind.

These systems can help blind users locate their

position and use voice-synthesising systems to

reach their destination (examples are systems

developed by the Sendero Group and the Victor

Trekker developed by VisuAide). The appearance

of powerful, wireless, hand-held computing

devices combined with a GPS also provides

the potential for small, consumer-grade mobility

systems.

Both maps for education and maps for mobility

require data. Through private-sector initiatives,

technology-based ones using geospatial data, GPS

and voice-guided systems are available in most

major cities in the United States. Though the tactile

mapping project would like to encourage Canadian

industry to develop similar assistive technology

systems for Canada, the high cost of acquiring

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

Enhancing spatial learning and mobility training 489

digital data has been a major impediment to

developing a marketable system. Canadian com-

panies that provide this type of way-finding tech-

nology are typically small and purchase of the

required data is beyond their means. At present,

the Government of Canada’s policy on the distribu-

tion of digital data is under review, with a view to

broadening dissemination as widely as possible.

If potential changes result in reducing the cost of

digital geospatial data for consumers, then the

development of GPS-based navigation systems

would likely advance.

Maps for transportation and tourism

This section of the Web site provides general inter-

est maps at various scales. Most of the maps in this

section are interactive maps based on the SVG

technology. At the present time, there are more

than 20 maps of various regions of Canada,

ranging from Bowen Island in British Columbia to

Iqaluit in Nunavut and St. John’s in Newfoundland

and Labrador. Further development of such maps

depends on the funding priority of the Govern-

ment on Line, Information and Services for Persons

with Disabilities cluster.

Maps for Web-4-All

The Web-4-All project of Industry Canada was

developed to help meet the public Internet access

need of people with disabilities and literacy issues

(Industry Canada 2003b). Web-4-All combines

hardware and software components to quickly

configure public access computers to accommo-

date the special needs of a user through the use

of a ‘smart card’ that stores the user’s computer

set-up preferences. Web-4-All Community Access

Champion sites will include a thermal image

enhancer and a touch tablet to provide access to

maps posted on the MVI project web site. In

2003, this equipment will be available in six

communities: Cowichan Valley, British Columbia;

Winnipeg, Manitoba; Oxford County, Ontario;

Drummondville, Quebec; St. John’s, Newfoundland

and Labrador; and Iqaluit, Nunavut. Two types of

maps—a city approach map and a city core map—

have been produced for each of the locations.

A pilot study has been planned to evaluate the

effectiveness of providing tactile and audio-tactile

map-reading and production facilities at various

community access sites (Industry Canada 2003a).

If this approach is found to increase program out-

reach and to provide effective access to Natural

Resources Canada’s map data by blind and visually

impaired citizens, a wider implementation will be

considered. The potential exists to provide thou-

sands of publicly accessible tactile map-enabled

sites across Canada.

Research and development

The research and development component of

the project addresses further improvements in

communicating geographic information using

techniques such as computer-based tactile and

audio-tactile mapping and encompasses both

technology- and user-based objectives. In keeping

with the GoL project framework, a primary interest

of the project team is to enhance Internet-based

dissemination of tactile multimedia maps through

applied research, undertaking much of it in colla-

boration with other government departments, aca-

demic units, industry partners and user

communities.

One of the key challenges to providing an effect-

ive user interface in a network environment is the

delivery of real-time tactile data. Currently, tactile

maps can be distributed as a file over a network,

printed locally and then embossed to produce a

tactile map. However, the printing and embossing

stage delays user access to the map and adds cost

and complexity to the system. Finding a more effi-

cient method of delivering information indepen-

dent of hardcopy maps is the next logical step of

research that could be undertaken. The MSB’s goal

is, ultimately, an Internet-enabled system that will

allow content to be dynamically delivered to an

audio-tactile tablet that can electronically activate

tactile elements to produce a map. In this way, the

printing step can be eliminated, saving both time

and cost and reducing environmental impact. Such

a system could deliver up-to-date maps to the user

from the most recent source of information avail-

able through Canada’s National Geo-spatial Data

Infrastructure.

Another challenge, especially for mapping a

large country like Canada, is to enable the user to

navigate from map to map to map. How does the

user move seamlessly from maps of British Colum-

bia to maps of Newfoundland and Labrador? How

does the user move easily and seamlessly from an

The Canadian Geographer / Le Geographe canadien 47, no 4 (2003)

490 Eva Siekierska et al.

Ontario map to a downtown Ottawa map? This is

already possible for the sighted user, and now the

challenge is to make it possible for the blind and

visually impaired user.

Automating map production from existing data

sets is a third area that could benefit from further

research. An automated system could deliver up-

to-date maps to the user from the most recent

sources of information available through Canada’s

National Geo-spatial Data Infrastructure. In addi-

tion to the cost considerations previously men-

tioned, there are also technical challenges in

accessing the geospatial data required to create

tactile maps. The project will evaluate different

methods of acquiring digital base map data, jud-

ging each on accessibility, cost and user-friend-

liness. The feasibility of decreasing production

costs and increasing production speed will also

be investigated.

The use of audio information, with or without

voice, adds another dimension to the map-reading

or map-making experience for blind and visually

impaired persons. Tactile maps are, by nature,

very generalised and include only the most basic

information. The use of voice provides a method

for representing additional information about fea-

tures such as, for example, user-inputted persona-

lised commentaries (‘this is my house’). The ability

to add audio is presently available at the MSB.

Furthermore, the ability to add commentaries by

users will result in the creation of customised

maps that will meet individual user requirements

and may help in the updating of tactile maps.

The project will also strive to expand knowledge

in areas such as cognition, map-reading and spa-

tial learning abilities through user-based research

aimed at developing guidelines and systematic

methodologies for producing tactile multimedia

maps that can be distributed over the Internet.

Conclusion

At the present time, blind and visually impaired

Canadian citizens have limited access to maps and

geospatial information. New Internet-based tech-

nologies, however, can enable the cost-effective

production of tactile and audio-tactile maps. As

well, the development of touch- and voice-based

interfaces will make maps and geospatial data on

the Internet widely available. Natural Resources

Canada is the country’s largest producer of maps

and geospatial information; the goal of the Mapping

for Visually Impaired project, carried out within the

Earth Sciences Sector, is to make this information

available for further education and to facilitate

mobility training.

Further research is now needed to solve the many

remaining technical issues pertaining to the access-

ibility of Internet-based geospatial data and the

production and use of tactile and audio-tactile

maps regardless of the source of the data. Research

on how to effectively and efficiently (from a cogni-

tive perspective) convey Internet-based geospatial

information to blind and visually impaired persons

and how they understand and make use of this

information is also needed. While the field of

tactile mapping is not new, research within the

MSB has been only recently initiated, and feed-

back obtained from user communities, including

interviews conducted with visually impaired and

blind students and teachers, and the professional

cartographic community has been encouraging.

The partnerships established with the academic,

industrial research and user communities promise

to facilitate a systematic approach and ensure that

the research, results and outcomes benefit the

widest possible audience.

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