The effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map for the process of cognitive mapping and recall among people with visual impairments
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Griffin, Edward
Picinali, Lorenzo
Scase, Mark
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
People with visual impairments can experience numerous challenges navigating unfamiliar environments. Systems that operate as prenavigation tools can assist such individuals. This mixed‐methods study examined the effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map tool on the process of cognitive mapping and recall, among people who were blind or had visual impairments. The tool was developed with the involvement of visually impaired individuals who additionally provided further feedback throughout this research.
Methods
A mixed‐methods experimental design was employed. Fourteen participants were allocated to either an experimental group who were exposed to an audio‐tactile map, or a control group exposed to a verbally annotated tactile map. After five minutes’ exposure, multiple‐choice questions examined participants’ recall of the spatial and navigational content. Subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted to examine their views surrounding the study and the product.
Results
The experimental condition had significantly better overall recall than the control group and higher average scores in all four areas examined by the questions. The interviews suggested that the interactive component offered individuals the freedom to learn the map in several ways and did not restrict them to a sequential and linear approach to learning.
Conclusion
Assistive technology can reduce challenges faced by people with visual impairments, and the flexible learning approach offered by the audio‐tactile map may be of particular value. Future researchers and assistive technology developers may wish to explore this further.
People with visual impairments can experience numerous challenges navigating unfamiliar environments. Systems that operate as prenavigation tools can assist such individuals. This mixed‐methods study examined the effectiveness of an interactive audio‐tactile map tool on the process of cognitive mapping and recall, among people who were blind or had visual impairments. The tool was developed with the involvement of visually impaired individuals who additionally provided further feedback throughout this research.
Methods
A mixed‐methods experimental design was employed. Fourteen participants were allocated to either an experimental group who were exposed to an audio‐tactile map, or a control group exposed to a verbally annotated tactile map. After five minutes’ exposure, multiple‐choice questions examined participants’ recall of the spatial and navigational content. Subsequent semi‐structured interviews were conducted to examine their views surrounding the study and the product.
Results
The experimental condition had significantly better overall recall than the control group and higher average scores in all four areas examined by the questions. The interviews suggested that the interactive component offered individuals the freedom to learn the map in several ways and did not restrict them to a sequential and linear approach to learning.
Conclusion
Assistive technology can reduce challenges faced by people with visual impairments, and the flexible learning approach offered by the audio‐tactile map may be of particular value. Future researchers and assistive technology developers may wish to explore this further.
Date Issued
2020-07-01
Date Acceptance
2020-03-21
Citation
Brain and Behavior, 2020, 10 (7)
ISSN
2162-3279
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Brain and Behavior
Volume
10
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Identifier
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/brb3.1650
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Behavioral Sciences
Neurosciences
Neurosciences & Neurology
assistive technology
audio-tactile map
blind
visual impairment
BLIND
EXPLORATION
SYSTEM
LOCALIZATION
CONSTRUCTION
NAVIGATION
REALITY
MODELS
ROUTE
assistive technology
audio-tactile map
blind
visual impairment
1109 Neurosciences
1701 Psychology
1702 Cognitive Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e01650
Date Publish Online
2020-05-22