Tactile maps - Safety and usability

Abstract

Maps are regularly used in planning a trip or a route, e.g. when going on a holiday abroad or driving to a meeting in a place one has not visited before. Sighted people can get hold to a map quite easily as they are available both in paper copies and furthermore virtual maps are more and more widely available too. When one is visiting a city abroad one uses maybe more than one map at a time - city map as well as a route map of the public transport. These can be carried quite easily, as well as referred to on a regular basis. There are also maps of bigger venues like seating plans of auditoriums or concert venues. For the visually impaired tactile maps are also a safety issue [1].