Tactile Mapping Software for Blind and Visually Impaired Navigation and Science Education

适用于盲人和视障人士导航和科学教育的触觉绘图软件

• 批准号: 0533251
• 负责人: Amy Lobben
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: University of Oregon Eugene
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-15 至 2010-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0533251&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Tactile; Mapping; Software; Blind; Visually

Project SummaryThis project aims at providing/developing a model of environmental and thematic featureperception by blind and visually impaired map users. The project will also provide free, easilyaccessible, and easy to use tactile mapping software, downloadable from the Department ofGeography at University of Oregon website. The software will supply teachers with the tools tocreate navigation maps for blind and visually impaired orientation and mobility education as wellas create tactile socio-economic maps to be used as instructional materials in science and socialscience education. The Research Goals of the project are to:1. identify the most important environmental objects that are used during navigation,orientation and mobility by the blind and visually impaired2. identify how blind and visually impaired map users perceive, categorize and use theseenvironmental objects3. based on the findings from goals 1 and 2, create and evaluate a library of symbols thateffectively represent the environmental objects4. evaluate the threshold of socio-economic data representation/symbolization on tactilethematic maps5. create free, easily accessible Tactile Navigation and Socio-economic Mapping softwarethat incorporates research findings from goals 1, 2, 3,and 4Intellectual Merit. Research Goals 1-4 will be investigated through the design of empiricalexperiments involving human subject volunteers. Researchers and practitioners still do notunderstand completely how blind and visually impaired map readers perceive environmentalfeatures and then how those features are best symbolized for map use. While some researchershave begun to investigate tactile map design, very little has been reported on tactile navigationmap use and environmental perception. Moreover, little to no results has been reported on tactilethematic maps (neither design nor use). The results from the proposed research will build on thelimited knowledge base and begin to develop a model of understanding of both the environmentalfeatures (important for tactile navigation maps) and thematic value differences (important fortactile socio-economic maps).In addition, currently teachers have no automated means to produce navigation and thematicsocio-economic tactile maps for the education of blind and visually students. The TactileNavigation and Socio-economic Mapping that will be authored in this proposed project will offerthe ability for teachers and parents to create highly customized navigation and orientation mapsfor specific locations such as school, home, church, neighborhood, or playground. Moreover, theproposed software will allow the mapmakers to insert landmarks that are meaningful to the mapreader. But, one of the most substantial advantages of the proposed software is the additionalability to create hundreds of US socio-economic tactile maps, products that are flatly unavailablein any realistic way (without expensive custom-ordering from a tactile production company).Broader Impacts. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Law guarantees that this groupwill receive the materials they need for a free appropriate education. But, they don't have thesocio-economic maps they need to achieve an understanding of the country that guaranteed theireducational rights. The benefits this proposed project will bring to the underrepresented blindand visually impaired members of society are potentially monumental. The proposed project willdeliver not only theoretical models addressing the understanding map use and environmentalperception, but also the software, a tangible product that will enhance the infrastructure of bothresearch and education.

Project摘要此项目旨在通过盲目和视力障碍的地图用户提供/开发环境和主题功能认可模型。该项目还将提供免费，易于访问且易于使用的触觉映射软件，可从俄勒冈大学网站的地理学系下载。该软件将为教师提供盲目和视力障碍的导航图，并在视力障碍的方向和移动性教育以及Wellas创建触觉社会经济地图，以作为科学和社会学教育中的教学材料。该项目的研究目标是：1。确定盲人和视力障碍的导航，定向和移动性期间使用的最重要的环境对象。2。确定用户如何感知，分类和使用这些环境对象3。根据目标1和2的发现，创建和评估符号库的thateflectfectectement flfftectsfectionfectionfectsfects4。评估战术地图上的社会经济数据表示/象征的阈值5。创建免费的，易于访问的触觉导航和社会经济映射SoftWarethat，结合了目标1、2、3和4intlectual的研究结果。研究目标1-4将通过设计涉及人类主题志愿者的经验性培训的设计进行研究。研究人员和从业人员仍然完全意识到盲目和视力障碍的地图读者如何感知环境风格，然后如何最好地象征着这些功能以供地图使用。虽然一些研究人员开始研究触觉图设计，但关于触觉导航图和环境感知的报道很少。此外，关于战术地图（既不设计也不使用）几乎没有结果。拟议研究的结果将建立在统计的知识库基础上，并开始发展一种对环境风格（触觉导航图重要）和主题价值差异（重要的Fortactile社会经济地图）的了解模型。没有自动化的手段来制作导航和主题经济的触觉图，以教育盲人和视觉学生。该拟议项目中将撰写的TactiLeNavigation和社会经济地图将为教师和父母创建高度定制的导航和定向地图，以提供特定于学校，家庭，教堂，邻里或游乐场等特定地点的能力。此外，该软件将允许MapMakers插入对MapReader有意义的地标。但是，提议的软件中最重要的优势之一是创建数百个美国社会经济触觉图的附加性，即任何现实的方式（如果没有触觉生产公司的昂贵的定制订购），这些产品是无与伦比的。残疾人教育法保证，这一组将获得免费的适当教育所需的材料。但是，他们没有所需的这些经济地图来了解保证其教育权利的国家的理解。该提议的项目将带给代表性不足的盲人和视觉障碍的社会成员带来的好处可能是巨大的。拟议的项目将不仅要解决理解地图使用和环境感受的理论模型，而且还可以解决该软件，这是一种有形产品，可以增强研究和教育的基础架构。