The Information Value of Tactile Maps: A Comparison of Maps Printed with the Use of Different Techniques

ABSTRACT

Visually impaired people use tactile maps that can be read by the sense of touch or, to a limited extent, with their eyes. This article concerns the methods of assessing tactile maps in terms of their information value. In the research, methods used to assess traditional maps have been adopted to assess tactile maps. Tactile elements of two maps – one developed with the use of traditional methods and the second developed with the use of 3D printing – have been compared. Structural measures of information as well as the information efficiency coefficient of each map have been determined to assess whether new cartographic symbols proposed on a multi-level 3D printed map can increase its information value.

KEYWORDS:

• Information value
• structural measure of information
• tactile maps
• map analysis
• 3D printing
• blind and visually impaired

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jakub Wabiński

Jakub Wabiński is a doctoral student at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geodesy, Military University of Technology in Warsaw (Poland). He graduated from his BSc studies at the Maritime University of Szczecin (Poland) in 2015 and from his MSc studies at Military University of Technology in Warsaw (2017). He has also worked as postgraduate researcher at the Dublin Institute of Technology (Ireland). As a part of his doctorate he is working on the issue of tactile map design and automation of their production. He is also interested in novel cartographic presentation methods.