Tangible Active Objects and interactive sonification as a scatter plot alternative for the visually impaired

Abstract

In this paper we present an approach that enables visually impaired people to explore multivariate data through scatter plots. Our approach combines Tangible Active Objects (TAOs) and Interactive Sonification into a non-visual multi-modal data exploration interface and thereby translates the visual experience of scatter plots into the audio-haptic domain. Our system and the developed sonification techniques are explained in this paper and afirst user study is presented.