Exploring a novel inexpensive tangible interface for non-visual math and science

Abstract

Tangible interaction enables physical manipulation of digital data, making it ideal to support visually impaired students. Visually impaired students are frequently integrated in mainstream courses, collaborating with sighted peers and instructors. This paper describes a tangible block localization and tracking method, using small inexpensive sensor packages that detect color placed on an interaction surface—i.e., a standard flat-screen display. The system recursively subdivides the display surface into regions of distinct colors that the sensor package can distinguish. Once located, the sensor package can be tracked by moving the color pattern underneath to follow it, re-expanding the pattern as needed to capture the sensor package if it moves too fast. The novel tracking infrastructure supports novel approaches to teach a number of science and math concepts to visually impaired students.