tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39316945126979486292023-11-16T11:40:16.871+01:00maps4vipsBlog about non-visual navigation, especially with tactile mapsChristian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-72751836114203553362014-05-06T16:16:00.003+02:002014-05-06T16:16:50.086+02:00Zeit-Artikel "Navi essen Orientierungssinn auf" (in German)For those of you with a command of German please <a href="http://www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2014-05/kathrin-passig-gps-navigationssystem/komplettansicht" target="_blank">read this article of today</a>. It highlights the problem of relying on electronical assistant systems (such as navigation systems) too much. The author <a href="http://kathrin.passig.de/pages/uebersicht.html" target="_blank">Kathrin Passig </a>wrote it with a sense of humour and it is a joy to read. From my own studies about tactile maps, <a href="http://www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2014-05/kathrin-passig-gps-navigationssystem/komplettansicht?commentstart=57#cid-3613278" target="_blank">I have added references to scientific articles </a>that highlight the consequences of using navigation systems.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-75319750906169726672013-04-05T21:29:00.002+02:002013-04-05T21:29:53.680+02:00Schematisation in Visual and Tactile MapsWhen construction tactile maps schematisation is one way to ensure that the map is easy to understand. In my talk about "What the Quest for Tactile Maps Can Teach Us about Making Interactive Maps" (download <a href="http://maps4vips.info/Publications/Graf_GeoViz2013_ExtendedAbstract.pdf">Extended Abstract</a> & <a href="http://maps4vips.info/Publications/Graf_GeoViz2013_Presentation.pdf">Presentation</a>) I took the example of the London Underground to show the importance of schematisation for human conceptualisation of space.<br />
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In the beginning there was a veridical <span class="description"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/London_Underground" title="London Underground">London Underground</a> ma</span>p in which geometry and topology were preserved, i.e. the maps is very similar to the geographic environment <span class="description">(from 1908</span>).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="London Underground map from 1908" border="0" height="508" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Tube_map_1908-2.jpg/602px-Tube_map_1908-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tube_map_1908-2.jpg)</td></tr>
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From 1931, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Beck" target="_blank">Harry Beck</a> started to rework the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_Map" target="_blank">tube map</a> realizing that any the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topology" target="_blank">topology of the network </a>(e.g. connectivity, neighborhood relations) was important not so much its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geometry" target="_blank">geometry</a> (e.g. distances, angels). So he introduced the schematisation of the intersections to be quadlinear (i.e. all angles are abstracted to 90° and 45°) and the conncection between intersection to be straight (with some roundness at corners):</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/TubeMapZ1_TFL.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A low resolution image of Zone 1 of Transport for London's London Underground map." border="0" height="464" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d4/TubeMapZ1_TFL.png" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TubeMapZ1_TFL.png)</td></tr>
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There were several suggestions for improving the Beck map (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_Map#After_Beck" target="_blank">and its successors</a>) as with the schematic map it was hard to estimate distances or direction between stations. Recently, the idea of maps that are less schematic but that make it easier to match the geographic reality to foster comprehension by the users has gained some attention. Relaxing the constraints of straight lines only and multiple of 45° angles only can produce more veridical (and less schematic) maps like this one by <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jdforrester" title="User:Jdforrester">James D. Forrester</a>:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/London_Underground_Zone_1.svg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="363" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/London_Underground_Zone_1.svg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:London_Underground_Zone_1.svg)</td></tr>
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The <a href="http://www.kickmap.com/London/" target="_blank">KickMap of the London Underground</a> by Eddie Jabbour is another, more recent example. The development was motivated by the fact that the modern underground map has properties that make it hard to understand, for example, how above ground landmarks relate to undergound lines:<br />
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"Contributing to the confusion is the trend of modern Tube Map designs to be even more abstracted than Beck's original, resulting in a severe disconnection from the above-ground geography of London. This unfortunate drift is apparent by looking at London's geographic anchor, the River Thames, and its relation to stations as drawn by Beck, and comparing it to the present Tube map's Thames rendering and its relation to stations. Indeed, a few years back the tendency toward abstraction culminated in the Thames being removed entirely from the official Tube Map." (<a href="http://www.kickmap.com/London/" target="_blank">KickMap of the London Underground</a>) </blockquote>
See <a href="http://strata.oreilly.com/2010/07/redesigning-the-new-york-city.html" target="_blank">this O'Reilly Radar post</a> to understand the inspirations, the constraints, the trade offs, the multiple iterations that went into the final design. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kickmap.com/London/images/KMAP_LONDON_SMALL_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://www.kickmap.com/London/images/KMAP_LONDON_SMALL_lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: KickMap London (http://www.kickmap.com/London/images/KMAP_LONDON_SMALL_lg.jpg)</td></tr>
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Another map that set out to enhance the current underground map is the <a href="http://www.london-tubemap.com/" target="_blank">London Tubemap</a> by Mark Noad. As well as the KickMap, the TubeMap is not only topologically correct but preserves the geometry as much as possible to ensure that "the stations are geographically-accurate in relation to each other" (http://www.london-tubemap.com/about_the_map.php). On the downside there are more information in the map that the user needs to proces cognitively, for example, different slopes of lines and even freeform shapes of lines. <br />
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In my PhD I discuss what kind of schematisations could facilitate the comprehension of tactile orientation maps that are produced with a tactile printer. I tested different levels of abstraction that resulted in schematized maps (see below) and their effect on map understanding.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9TeJrvDQ80gUbGkxYaYTelC5ss_iUjRz1rZ7u8xWHDb5H76YNvi0bpOrybM_Oubvz49soRaw2oR70PSUlza2L3oVLLCGWhc5XDXraU5TP0K_rLGCrFZvurxHWn2LhCDOfg2r0imZJ00/s1600/Emprint_Cond_NonAbstract.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9TeJrvDQ80gUbGkxYaYTelC5ss_iUjRz1rZ7u8xWHDb5H76YNvi0bpOrybM_Oubvz49soRaw2oR70PSUlza2L3oVLLCGWhc5XDXraU5TP0K_rLGCrFZvurxHWn2LhCDOfg2r0imZJ00/s640/Emprint_Cond_NonAbstract.png" width="443" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_gCHmKbMWlRIXmvuU2c7bPMoIzuUo_bPhKZ2M5vX4LmKQeAd4UoKVgUwGHuITba_nMIewLxd4_tBlYBonrz_YdUwO63scD3_iZ0dM-Ef36Y5am6ebOKTAIUok4WiWFrVlYKNm-h7UBo/s1600/Emprint_Cond_HighAbstract.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><br /><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_gCHmKbMWlRIXmvuU2c7bPMoIzuUo_bPhKZ2M5vX4LmKQeAd4UoKVgUwGHuITba_nMIewLxd4_tBlYBonrz_YdUwO63scD3_iZ0dM-Ef36Y5am6ebOKTAIUok4WiWFrVlYKNm-h7UBo/s640/Emprint_Cond_HighAbstract.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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The thesis is to be published soon. Articles and presentation of the work can be <a href="http://www.maps4vips.info/Publications/" target="_blank">found here.</a>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-63003983972015207822013-04-03T19:06:00.000+02:002013-04-05T17:03:56.422+02:00Tactile Displays go mainstream?!The adaptionof current research into the realm of consumer products is a clear sign for me that tactile and haptic technology is the next big thing in human-computer interaction. See the following articles (to be extended):<br />
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<li><a href="http://www.nzz.ch/wissen/wissenschaft/die-rueckkehr-der-knoepfchen-1.18056930" target="_blank">Die Rückkehr der Knöpfchen (in German)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/ibm-looks-ahead-to-a-sensor-revolution-and-cognitive-computers/" target="_blank">I.B.M. Looks Ahead to a Sensor Revolution and Cognitive Computers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671924/iphone-maps-for-the-blind-using-haptic-tech" target="_blank">iPhone Maps For The Blind, Using Haptic Tech</a></li>
<li>... </li>
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Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-82574478917225574402013-02-19T00:25:00.002+01:002013-02-19T00:31:59.673+01:00Presentations about "Maps for Handicapped People" @ ICC 2001<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21001.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Atlas Tactil De Latino America (Tactile Atlas of Latin America)</span></b></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">D.R.F. Taylor (Canada)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21002.rtf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Maps for the Blind and Visually Handicapped</span></b></span></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Izabella Krauze-Tomczyk ,Jolanta Korycka-Skorupa (Poland)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21003.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Tactile Campus Mapping: Evaluating Designs and Production Technologies</span></b></span></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Chris Perkins (United Kingdom)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21004.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">How to Make Tactile Maps Discriminable for Touch?</span></b></span></span></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Yvonne Eriksson (Sweden)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21006.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">Achievable Goal or Chimaera ? Standardisation in Tactile Mapping</span></b></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">A F Tatham (UK)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21007.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US">The Production and Use of Tactile Maps in Säo Paulo, Brazil - An Overview and Perspectives</span></b></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Cec</span><span lang="EN-GB">í</span><span lang="EN-US">lia Maria OKA ,Carla Cristina Reinaldo de SENA (Brazil)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21008.pdf" target="_blank"><br />
</a> <a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21008.pdf" target="_blank"> </a><br />
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21008.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>Tactile Mapping Project at Canadian Federal Mapping Agency - Mapping Services Branch </b></span></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Eva Siekierska, Richard Labelle,<span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span>Linda O</span><span lang="EN-GB">’</span><span lang="EN-US">Neil (Canada)</span></i><span lang="EN-US"> <i> </i></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21005.pdf" target="_blank"> </a><br />
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<a href="http://icaci.org/files/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2001/icc2001/file/f21005.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"><b>A Large Scale City Atlas for the Blind</b></span></span></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Kostas Papadopoulos, Chryssoula Boutoura, Evangelos Livieratos (Greece)</span></i></span></span></div>
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Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-64327622184234092132013-02-19T00:17:00.004+01:002013-02-19T00:20:19.402+01:00Schematisation of routes in another PhD projectA blog I reguarly read for the pure joy of cartographic material is <a href="http://www.beagraphy.net/" target="_blank">Beagraphy</a>, written by Beate Weninger. She is a doctoral student of geography from Graz who is doing her <a href="http://www.beagraphy.net/projekte/promotionsprojekt/" target="_blank">PhD about the usability of noise maps</a> in Hamburg. We sometimes meet at the <a href="http://www.uxhh.de/roundtable/" target="_blank">UX roundtable</a> where she presented her former <a href="http://de.slideshare.net/uxhh/akustisch-unterstuetzte-karten" target="_blank">project about 'accoustically enhanced maps</a>'. <br />
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Beate's <a href="http://www.beagraphy.net/die-bemerkenswerte-karte-im-januar-literaturkartographie/" target="_blank">latest post</a> pointed my to <a href="http://www.literaturatlas.eu/en/" target="_blank">the project 'Literaturatlas'</a>, co-headed by Lorenz Hurni of ETH Zurich, whom I visited five years ago to speak with him about his work on <a href="http://www.terrainmodels.com/" target="_blank">terrain models</a>, especially <a href="http://www.terrainmodels.com/tactile.html" target="_blank">reliefs for the blind</a>. The Literaturatlas is a cartographic visualisation of places and routes that are mentioned in literature (see <a href="http://www.literaturatlas.eu/2011/12/28/szenario-des-literarischen-atlas-europas/" target="_blank">the motivating scenario</a>). <br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3931694512697948629" target="_blank">Amoung other visualisation techniques, schematised routes are used to clarify the arbitrariness of routes</a> (in German) when only some (vague) waypoints are mentioned in some text. The concept of schematisation is used here in a similar way as in <a href="https://maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">my dissertation</a> albeit <a href="http://www.dgfk.net/index.php?do=dbk&do2=1301" target="_blank">applied to routes</a> not to whole street networks. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.dgfk.net/dbk/dbk_1301_Abbildung2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://www.dgfk.net/dbk/dbk_1301_Abbildung2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
This is the first time that I see the term schematisation used outside of <a href="http://cosy.informatik.uni-bremen.de/" target="_blank">my research group</a> to describe the process of map abstraction. Although it used here to describe a visualisation technique (in cartographic terms, that is generalisation) it is similar to the drawing people produce when externalsing the cognitive schematisation that happens in their minds when listening to route descriptions or <a href="http://maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">reading tactile maps with their fingers</a>.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-16152752266825194572013-02-06T14:57:00.000+01:002013-02-07T00:37:33.799+01:00heise.de berichtet über Navigation für Blinde<a href="http://heise.de/">heise.de</a>, eins der starken (und m.M. guten) online-Leitmedien, hat heute über die<a href="http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Navigation-fuer-Blinde-1798074.html" target="_blank"> Navigation für Blinde berichtet, </a>ein Anlass für mich, dies auch hier kundzutun. Ich freue mich besonders über die Berichterstattung zu diesen sonst eher als Randthemen eingestuften Arbeiten. Da kann man sicher sein, dass es auch Aufmerksamkeit bekommt, wie ich an zwei unabhängig bei mir eingegangen Mails sehen konnte, die mich auf <a href="http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Navigation-fuer-Blinde-1798074.html" target="_blank">den Artikel</a> aufmerksam machten.<br />
<br />
Ergänzend dazu noch ein paar Links zu einer Technologie, die den Ansatz der Sinnessubstitution verfolgt, allerdings nicht unbedingt auf Navigation ausgerichtet:<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.artificialvision.com/" target="_blank">The vOICe - Seeing with Sound</a> (Peter B.L. Meijer)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.nature.com/neurosci/neuropod/index-2012-11-27.html" target="_blank">Seeing with your ears</a> (Michael Proulx, Bath University)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.daserste.de/information/wissen-kultur/w-wie-wissen/sendung/2011/mit-den-ohren-sehen-die-hoerbrille-100.html" target="_blank">Mit den Ohren sehen - die Hörbrille</a> (ARD Sendung)</li>
</ol>
Neben der Sinnessubstitution gibt es unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen auch die Möglichkeit, den <a href="http://www.zdf.de/ZDFmediathek/beitrag/video/1622672/Forscher-oeffnen-Blinden-Fenster-zur-Welt#/beitrag/video/1622672/Forscher-oeffnen-Blinden-Fenster-zur-Welt" target="_blank">Sehsinn mittels Sensor im Auge und Chip im Gehirn wieder herzustellen</a>.<br /><ol>
</ol>
Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0Hamburg, Deutschland53.5510846 9.9936817999999952.9475836 8.702788299999991 54.154585600000004 11.28457529999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-83519829144059842182012-09-27T15:31:00.002+02:002012-10-09T22:28:17.510+02:00HCI & IxD Conferences 2013Conferences that are eligable for presenting some of my PhD work on the computer-centric printing of usable tactile orientation maps:<br />
<ul>
<li>March, 19-22: <a href="http://iuiconf.org/" target="_blank">INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INTELLIGENT USER INTERFACES </a>(Santa Monica, USA), Abstracts due Oct 15, papers Oct 22, 2012</li>
<li>April, 15-18: <a href="http://www.ehf2013.org.uk/" target="_blank">Ergonomics and Human Factors </a>(Cambridge, UK), Papers due Oct 1, 2012</li>
<li>April, 27 - May, 02 : <a href="http://chi2013.acm.org/" target="_blank">CHI 2013</a> (Paris, France),Oct 5, 2012 </li>
<li>May : HCI 2013 - People and Computers (UK) </li>
<li>July 1-3 : SOUTH-CHI 2013 (Maribor, Slovenien), papers due Nov 1, 2012</li>
<li>July, 21-26 : <a href="http://www.hcii2013.org/" target="_blank">HCI International 2013</a> (Las Vegas, USA), abstracts due Oct 12, 2012 papers due Feb 1, 2013 </li>
<li>July, 22-27: <a href="http://www.szs.uni-karlsruhe.de/1067.php" target="_blank">ICCHP Summer University </a>(Karlsruhe, Germany)</li>
<li>July, 31 - August, 03 : <a href="http://cognitivesciencesociety.org/conference2013/index.html" target="_blank">CogSci 2013</a> (Berlin, Germany) </li>
<li>August: <a href="http://www.haid.ws/" target="_blank">International Workshop on Haptic and Audio Interaction Design</a> 2013 (Sweden?), Papers due April (?) 2013</li>
<li>August, 25-30 : <a href="http://www.icc2013.org/" target="_blank">International Cartographic Conference 2013</a> (Dresden), papers due Nov 1, 2012</li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">September, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">2-6 </span>: <a href="http://www.interact2013.org/" target="_blank">INTERACT 2013</a> (CapeTown, South Africa), 8 January 2013 (abstracts), 15 January 2013 (full papers).</span> </li>
<li>September: <a href="http://www.stateofthemap.org/" target="_blank">State of the Map</a> 2013</li>
</ul>
Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-78451091060618877812012-08-13T18:05:00.004+02:002012-08-13T18:23:17.153+02:00Touch Effects by Reverse Electrovibrations As follow up to <a href="http://maps4vips.blogspot.de/2012/06/some-not-so-recent-developments-visual.html" target="_blank">my last post on the development of tactile interfaces</a> and <a href="http://maps4vips.blogspot.de/2012/05/different-approaches-to-computer.html" target="_blank">the one before about different approaches to tactile interfaces</a>, Walt Disney researchers present a methods to induce touch effects that works without bulky extra hardware like gloves or force-feedback device but with a thin covering on the display: <a href="http://www.sciencecodex.com/disney_researchers_add_sense_of_touch_to_augmented_reality_applications-96059" target="_blank">Feel the touch</a> through electrovibrations. Unfortunately no directional forces can be transmitted as far as I can learn from the description (see below). Insofar the technology is of limited use for guiding the fingers over the surface.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/L7DGq8SddEQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">"<span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-left;">REVEL is a new wearable tactile technology that modifies the user’s tactile perception of the physical world. Current tactile technologies enhance objects and devices with various actuators to create rich tactile sensations, limiting the experience to the interaction with instrumented devices. In contrast, REVEL can add artificial tactile sensations to almost any surface or object, with very little if any instrumentation of the environment. As a result, REVEL can provide dynamic tactile sensations on touch screens as well as everyday objects and surfaces in the environment, such as furniture, walls, wooden and plastic objects, and even human skin.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-left;" />
<span style="font-family: arial, verdana, helvetica; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-left;">REVEL is based on Reverse Electrovibration. It injects a weak electrical signal into anywhere on the user's body, creating an oscillating electrical field around the user’s skin. When sliding his or her fingers on a surface of the object, the user perceives highly distinctive tactile textures that augment the physical object. Varying the properties of the signal, such as the shape, amplitude and frequency, can provide a wide range of tactile sensations." (from the video clip page:</span>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7DGq8SddEQ">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7DGq8SddEQ</a> )</span></span>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-1193256814369928202012-06-15T16:21:00.000+02:002012-07-12T11:58:55.374+02:00iPhone App supporting blind people's navigation: Ariadna GPSMy colleaque <a href="http://www.cosy.informatik.uni-bremen.de/staff/paolo-fogliaroni/" target="_blank"><span class="signature">Paolo Fogliaroni</span></a> pointed me to <a href="http://www.ariadnegps.eu/" target="_blank">Ariadne GPS</a>. It seems to be of interest for the scenario I have chosen for my PhD work: Survey knowledge
acquisition with (tactile) maps, most likely for blind people.<br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"Ariadne GPS is more than a simple gps app. Besides offering you
the possibility to know your position and to get information about the
street, the number, etc. it also lets you explore the map of what's
around you.<br /><br />What do we mean by saying "explore"? You'll deal with
a talking map. If you have VoiceOver activated on your device, you will
be able to know the street names and numbers that are around you by
touching them. [...] You can also explore a different region than the one around you by telling the app the street and the city."</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EwGOnvMTAf4iNJy1AEHaYACpSGH3fuidKTJY6OhE3VsMUwubCmCflTuhh2EiSDugsvVHIYmG0EiIfkpkGNO-9fhZdCX2CqXxdSctqXBCOvT5a45tJMT0ER53onoORGgZ-EwUE6ulSuA/s1600/mzl.idkzholy.480x480-75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EwGOnvMTAf4iNJy1AEHaYACpSGH3fuidKTJY6OhE3VsMUwubCmCflTuhh2EiSDugsvVHIYmG0EiIfkpkGNO-9fhZdCX2CqXxdSctqXBCOvT5a45tJMT0ER53onoORGgZ-EwUE6ulSuA/s400/mzl.idkzholy.480x480-75.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot from the app on an iPad - <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/ariadne-gps/id441063072?mt=8" target="_blank">get it here</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The capability I am interested in the most is that this app lets you
know of what's around you with the button "Explore Region". That capability could be compared to a dynamically self-updating You-are-Here map with the user being always in the middle of the map.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A big drawback of any mobile phone based map: it's small and can only cover a very limited part of the environment. This situation is slightly better when using devices with a bigger screen, like the iPad. Another drawback is that the premium channel to convey any meaning to the blind user is voice. Everythings needs to be memorized verbally. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.ariadnegps.eu/rel-2-0-video-podcasts/" target="_blank">Several videos</a> show how that would work, they are also available as <a href="http://www.ariadnegps.eu/version-2-0-podcasts/" target="_blank">audio podcast</a>.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://maps4vips.blogspot.de/2012/05/different-approaches-to-computer.html" target="_blank">The advent of tactile displays/interfaces</a> could overcome the spatial knowledge acquisition by </span>speech only<span style="font-size: small;">. But then there is the question how to abstract and optimize the high details visual maps or GIS data to the low detail tactile interfaces. Then <a href="http://www.maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">my PhD work</a> might come into play.</span></div>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-1613447461560118372012-06-12T00:47:00.001+02:002012-06-15T16:17:47.929+02:00Development in Tactile interfacesSome (not so) recent developments:<br />
<ol>
<li>Visual art accessible for the blind through "<b><a href="http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2037822&dl=ACM&coll=DL&CFID=87759993&CFTOKEN=73014703" target="_blank">High-quality tactile paintings</a><span style="font-weight: normal;">" (<a href="http://www.vrvis.at/publications/pdfs/PB-VRVis-2011-009.pdf" target="_blank">PDF</a>)</span></b></li>
<li><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Touchscreens that sends <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/05/10/video-touchcscreen-sends-tactile-information-through-the-display-onto-your-hand/" target="_blank">tactile information to the hand through the display</a> (<a href="http://www.diginfo.tv/v/11-0089-r-en.php" target="_blank">video</a>).</span></b></li>
</ol>
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Both technologies mean a technical advancement per se, but to really be helpful to visually impaired people I believe a second component must come in place: cognitively motivated abstraction of the rich details a visual depiction usually has. Be invited to browse the <a href="http://maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">webpage of my PhD project</a> about cognitively-adequate schematization of tactile maps to learn more about that approach. </span></b>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-53161664733352984782012-05-19T09:24:00.002+02:002012-05-20T08:25:40.391+02:00Writing a thesis on multiple computersWhile <a href="http://cosy.informatik.uni-bremen.de/staff/christian-graf" target="_blank">researching</a> about the <a href="http://www.maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">principles of constructing tactile orientation maps (semi)automatically</a> I have built my own data storage infrastructure that synchronizes my files and data to multiple computers. The background is that I work from different sites with different computers, some of which are always online, some of them at least partially offline (for example when I ride the train).<br />
<br />
First, I installed <a href="http://www.zotero.org/" target="_blank">Zotero</a>, the reference gathering and management tool, as extension to Firefox. The reference data and some files attached to references are stored locally on the computer such that one can work offline. Originally intended for installation on a single computer Zotero can be tweaked to work on multiple computers (each one has to be assigned a unique ID via the Firefox configuration), such that all synchronize with the same reference collection and the same file storage. I originally used the <a href="http://shop.gmx.net/mediacenter/productdetail/105186?mc=03951000" target="_blank">GMX MediaCenter</a> as WebDAV backend for file storage which worked fine until recently. In April 2012 there was some unannouced change in the GMX policies that restrict folder sizes to 1000 files (see <a href="http://hilfe.gmx.net/classic/content/resources/mediacenter/uebersicht.htm" target="_blank">this help page</a>). As Zotero stores all file attachments non-hierachically in one folder and as each attachment has an additional property file this restriction means that you can only store 500 attachments. My collection of references has well above 1000 items, thus GMX MediaCenter does not work for me anymore. I am in search of a replacement offering at least 3GB of storage over WebDAV. I tried <a href="http://www.windowslive.de/skydrive/" target="_blank">Microsoft Skydrive</a> (7GB but no WebDAV) and <a href="http://dsl-und-dienste.t-online.de/mediencenter-die-online-festplatte-fuer-fotos-und-dateien/id_12646830/index" target="_blank">T-Online Mediencenter</a> (25GB but no WebDAV) as storage provider and <a href="http://www.smestorage.com/" target="_blank">SME Storage</a> as WebDAV interface to these providers and my own FTP server. But I haven't found a working solution yet even if there are great <a href="http://www.cloudsider.com/online-festplatte-preisvergleich.html" target="_blank">website to compare cloud storage solutions</a> (often other solutions have the 1000 files limit as well or a transfer limit of less than 2GB). If someone knows one for not more than 50Euros/year, please point me to that solution!<br />
<br />
Working on my thesis, I found that the cloud storage services <a href="http://www.dropbox.com/" target="_blank">Dropbox</a> and <a href="http://www.wuala.com/" target="_blank">Wuala</a> are pretty useful when you work at different places with different computers. I particularly like Wuala. It is a European service, offers real client-side encryption and a non-hierarchical embedding of sync-folders into the local file system. Even if encrypted in the cloud most services suffer from some security issues as the recent report "<a href="http://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/de/cloudstudy.html" target="_blank">On the Security of Cloud Storage Services</a>" (in German) by the <a href="http://www.sit.fraunhofer.de/" target="_blank">Fraunhofer SIT </a>turned up. I would like to have my data on my own server, but this will be done only after I have finished my thesis. Then I will setup some own WebDAV server that can hold my attachments of <a href="http://www.zotero.org/cgraf" target="_blank">my Zotero library</a>, all <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112263417959918360697" target="_blank">my photos</a> etc. that are now distributed over different cloud services.<br />
<br />
Having worked on a heterogenous infrastructure in the past including different operation systems (Windows, MacOS) and different word processors (Word, OpenOffice, LaTeX), I needed some tool to convert from DOC and RTF files including tables and figures to TeX files. <a href="http://tug.org/utilities/texconv/pctotex.html" target="_blank">This page about free and commercial coverters on TUG.org</a> helped my a lot.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com4Hamburg, Deutschland53.5510846 9.993681853.2492126 9.3619677999999986 53.852956600000006 10.6253958tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-2886487226906610332012-05-17T14:31:00.001+02:002012-05-17T14:31:14.501+02:00Ancient tactile maps to ease navigation of coast linesIn <a href="http://ifluxplus.blogspot.de/2012/04/pause-auf-dieser-seite.html#comment-form" target="_blank">a comment</a> to <a href="http://ifluxplus.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my business blog</a>, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/03656128393157108132" target="_blank">mprove</a> pointed me to the cover of Bill Buxton's book <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Sketching-User-Experiences-Interactive-Technologies/" target="_blank">'Sketching User Experiences'</a>. It shows a close-up of some physical artefact that is not discernable at first glance. <a href="http://www.amazon.de/Sketching-User-Experiences-Interactive-Technologies/dp/0123740371/#reader_0123740371" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">On page 36</a> you can find the explanation what it is: it's a map made of wood showing some coastal region which was used by the Inuit people to navigate along the shores of Canada and Greenland (see the picture below) <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Holm1887p250_Tr%C3%A6kort.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Holm1887p250_Tr%C3%A6kort.png" width="177" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%28http://books.google.com/books?id=iDspAAAAYAAJ" target="_blank">von Gustav Holm, Vilhelm Garde</a> [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons </span></div>
<br />
I learned about these 'ancient' tactile maps from <a href="http://middlesavagery.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/tactile-maps-and-imaginary-geographies/" target="_blank">a blog post from 2008</a> in and <a href="http://bldgblog.blogspot.de/2010/02/tactile-maps-of-coastlines-and.html" target="_blank">a blog post from 2010</a>. It's fascinating, so have a look at these post and the comments to it as they hold a lot of interesting detail!<br />
<br />
For me, these artefacts clearly shows that tactile maps are not only for the blind, but that they can help visually able persons as well. The property that makes such maps useful is the <a href="http://scholar.google.de/scholar?hl=en&q=representational+correspondence" target="_blank">representational correspondence </a>between the structure of the representation of the geographic world (i.e. the map) and the structure of the geographic environment. Additionally the representational format of the map is the same as the format of the represented structure: it's spatial. For non-blind persons, the match between representation and the represented to find correspondence is eased even more as both, artefact and environment, are accessible visually. Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-51955906101194631442012-05-05T23:22:00.001+02:002012-06-15T16:21:15.726+02:00Different Approaches to Computer-controlled Tactile Displays<i> Helen Knight</i> writing for <i>New Scientist, </i>Magazine issue <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/issue/2862">2862</a>,<i> </i>reports about a new navigation device for blind people in the article "<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428625.700-robot-sensing-and-smartphones-help-blind-navigate.html" target="_blank">Robot Sensing and Smartphones to Help Blind Navigate</a>". It was presented in the talk "<a href="http://ilp.mit.edu/event.jsp?id=3645" target="_blank">Intelligent Glasses? Visuo-tactile Assistance for Visually Impaired Interaction</a>" at the MIT: "<i><a href="http://www.isir.upmc.fr/index.php?op=view_profil&id=25&old=N&lang=fr" target="_blank">Edwige Pissaloux</a> and colleagues at Pierre and Marie Curie
University's <a href="http://www.isir.upmc.fr/index.php" target="_blank">Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR)</a> have
developed technology that could eventually let blind users navigate
their surroundings without assistance. The system features glasses
outfitted with cameras and sensors like those employed in robot
exploration, and it generates a three-dimensional map of the user's
environment and their position in it, which is continuously updated and
displayed on a handheld electronic Braille device. The system produces
nearly 10 maps each second, which are transmitted to the Braille device
and displayed as a dynamic tactile map. Pissaloux says the Braille
map's update speed is sufficient for a visually impaired wearer to
navigate an area at walking speed.</i>" <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428625.700-robot-sensing-and-smartphones-help-blind-navigate.html" target="_blank">read more</a><br />
<br />
As much as I welcome the development of new technology in the mobility area for visually disabled I really wonder how low-tech these gadgets seem to be in terms of cognitive consideration put into the development. This particular work is developed in the robotics domain and uses advances computer vision techniques to determine what to display on a small Braille pad - so one might understand that it is technology focussed. From that aspect this project is interesting as it employs <b>shape memory alloy</b>
to bring the tactual entities into being (I could not varify if the
result is a continous surface or a rather discrete surface). But given that the Braille pad should be used by blind people, their specific cognitive abilities should be under consideration when developing assistive technology.<br />
<br />
In this regard other approaches fall short as well: In the <a href="http://www.bmwi.de/" target="_blank">BMWi</a> funded project
<a href="http://www.hyperbraille.de/?lang=en" target="_blank">Hyperbraille</a> a pin-matrix display has been developed that works as a composition of hundrets of <b>electro-mechanical piezo benders</b> which raise the pins to form one
sampled, discrete image. Some years ago, there was a <a href="http://www.tiresias.org/research/researchers/projects/interfaces/tactile/dynamic.htm" target="_blank">NSF funded project</a> at <a href="http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/home07/nov07/tactile.html" target="_blank">John Hopkins University</a> (2007-2009) advancing a <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3931694512697948629" target="_new">dynamic electronic surface</a> (on a polymer basis as well), but the development seems to have ceased. The EU-project <a href="http://www.noms-project.eu/" target="_blank">NOMS</a> (2010-2013) works on <b>electroactive polymers hydraulics</b> to promote materials & new production technologies for the interaction with a discrete surface (see articles in <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/braille-display/" target="_blank">Wired</a> and <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=braille-display-web" target="_blank">Scientific America</a>). Other projects care about navigation support for the blind, but are not primarily focussed on technology: <a href="http://www.ist-world.org/ProjectDetails.aspx?ProjectId=7027298cb5ab47c5b9a0a3d4889fabe6" target="_blank">ENABLED</a> (2004-2007), <a href="http://cordis.europa.eu/fetch?CALLER=ICT_UNIFIEDSRCH&ACTION=D&DOC=2&CAT=PROJ&QUERY=011b03af9783:7577:4dc4bb70&RCN=87280" target="_blank">HAPTIMAP</a> (2008-2012) and <a href="http://www.nav4blind.de/" target="_blank">Nav4Blind</a> - all of them are <a href="http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Lal%C3%BC/HAPTIMAP" target="_blank">interrelated</a>. Other technologies like <b><a href="http://www.tuwien.ac.at/en/news/news_detail/article/7444/" target="_blank">laser lithography</a></b> might become interesting once established for home use and the production of appropriate sized objects.<br />
<br />
Displaying an image as tactile version on a Braille pad does not
necessarily mean that the users understand that representation of the
world. What catched my attention in this regard is the design decission to generate a 3d representation on the tactile pad. What for? Unfortunately nothing is said about this aspect in the article and there is no other material available about the project. Most blind people I spoke to were not interested in the heights of buildings. In some cases the inclination of the pavement might be interesting to orientate oneself. But I doubt that any tactile display listed above is able to represent this, let alone the ability to read thus information of these displays. In general, the abstractions must be understandable, i.e. matching the cognitive abilities and the specialities of tactile processing. That is what <a href="http://www.maps4vips.info/" target="_blank">my PhD project</a> is aiming for: cognitively-adequate tactile orientation maps.<br />
<br />
The initially mentioned ISIR at the <a class="internal-link" href="http://www.asterics.eu/index.php?id=15" title="Opens internal link in current window"><span lang="fr">Université Pierre et Marie Curie</span></a> is consortium member in the EU-project <a href="http://www.asterics.eu/" target="_blank">Assistive Technology Rapid Integration & Construction Set (AsTeRICS)</a> as well. It hosts a <a href="http://www.isir.upmc.fr/index.php?op=view_equipe&id=2&lang=fr" target="_blank">group on interaction</a> and describes itself as being <a href="http://www.asterics.eu/index.php?id=15" target="_blank">involved in cognitive science</a>.
Unfortunately this expertise seems to be underrepresented in the
current work. ISIR might have the opportunity to push <b>cognitive
consideration</b> in the project the institute is involved in. But the same seems to be true for most EU-projects in the 7th framework: they are <b>technology driven</b> and put cognitive consideration as an optional add-on at the end of the development cycle. I think we can learn from <b>Human-Computer-Interaction</b> here: Until approx. the 1980th most development was technology driven (then the success of the Mac brought good design and usability to the attention of people). From the 1990th <b>usability</b> was considered a major factor of the customers' acceptance and 15 years later the even wider concept of <b>user experience</b> had settled in the minds of designers, developers and marketeers. <i>The focus has shifted from<b> technology</b> to <b>human-centred functionality</b> to <b>personality</b></i>. In the domain of tactile displays we are now in the phase of technology-focussed development. Some people will realize that there must be a shift towards human-centred and cognitive aspects as people won't accept (and will not buy) technology without these considerations taken into account.<br />
<br />
<i>Note: see also my <a href="http://maps4vips.blogspot.de/2012/06/some-not-so-recent-developments-visual.html" target="_blank">recent post on Developments in Tactile Interfaces </a> </i>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-14278211163607314002012-04-17T22:59:00.000+02:002012-04-17T22:59:37.116+02:00Call for Papers for SKALID 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://maps4vips.info/skalid/images/templatemo_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://maps4vips.info/skalid/images/templatemo_logo.jpg" /></a></div>The "<a href="http://maps4vips.info/skalid/">Workshop on Spatial Knowledge Acquisition with Limited Information Displays</a>" proposed by <a href="http://cosy.informatik.uni-bremen.de/staff/falko-schmid" target="_blank">Falko Schmid</a>, <a href="http://spatial.umaine.edu/faculty/giudice/" target="_blank">Nicholas Giudice</a> and <a href="http://cosy.informatik.uni-bremen.de/staff/christian-graf" target="_blank">me</a> for <a href="http://sc2012.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/workshops.html" target="_blank">Spatial Cognition 2012</a> was accepted. It is about the commonalities between tactile maps, visual maps on small displays and other types of maps on limited information displays. Now we seek YOUR submission! <a href="http://maps4vips.info/skalid/Submission.shtml" target="_blank">See details</a> or download the <a href="http://maps4vips.info/skalid/CfP.pdf" target="_blank">Call for Papers as PDF</a>.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-28339302140461993422012-04-17T14:48:00.000+02:002012-05-26T14:39:13.086+02:00Tactile Display coupled with Tactile SensorAs <a href="http://www.inside-handy.de/news/24641-forschung-taktiles-display-mit-force-feedback" target="_blank">Inside-Handy reports</a>, there is an interesting development by NEC and the Tokioter Institute of Technology: a tactile display is uses coupled with sensory abilities which results in a complete tactile interaction device. In contrast to the original article, I doubt that this device provides any kind of force-feedback abilities. Real force-feedback would demand for any mechanism that can excert a force to the finger(s) or at least the sensation of a force to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanoreceptor" target="_blank">mechanoreceptors</a> in the skin. As far as I can see, there is no such think it this prototype. But watch yourself: <br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Spatial Cognition </span></h3>
<ul>
<li style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="http://spatiallearning.org/" target="_blank"><i>Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center</i> (SILC) </a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
<li style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://sfbtr8.uni-bremen.de/" target="_blank">"Spatial Cognition" trans-regional research group at Bremen University </a></span></li>
<li style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://spatial-cognition.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">"Spatial Cognition and Wayfinding" lab at Bournemouth University</span></a></li>
<li style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://spatial.ucsb.edu/" target="_blank">Center for Spatial Studies, University of California</a></li>
<li style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.psych.ucsb.edu/%7Ehegarty/" target="_blank"><span class="p_start">"Spatial Thinking" lab at the University of California</span></a></span></li>
</ul>
<h3>
Human Factors in Spatial Cognition </h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1712216973">"Human Factors in GIScience</a><a href="http://www.cognitivegiscience.psu.edu/" target="_blank">" Lab, Penn State University </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.uni-weimar.de/cms/medien/usability.html" target="_blank">Computer Science and Media, Bauhaus Universität Weimar</a> </li>
</ul>
<h3>
Tactile Media/Maps</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://elvis.inf.tu-dresden.de/" target="_blank">Arbeitsgruppe Studium für Blinde und Sehbehinder</a>te & <a href="http://www.inf.tu-dresden.de/index.php?node_id=978&ln=de" target="_blank">Professur HCI</a>, Universität Dresden</li>
<li>Computer-controlled, refreshable tactile displays: </li>
<ul>
<li>with piezo-electric, descrete dots:<a href="http://www.hyperbraille.de/" target="_blank"> HyperBraille</a> (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B0cxt2x-jA" target="_blank">demo video</a>)</li>
<li>with <a href="http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/wmsdispignabraille/" target="_blank">dielectric elastomer, decrete dots</a> (<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.847666" target="_blank">paper1</a>, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2012.02.004" target="_blank">paper2</a>, <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/0964-1726/21/1/012001" target="_blank">paper3</a>)</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://www.haptimap.org/" target="_blank">HaptiMap EU project </a></li>
<li><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_for_the_blind" target="_blank">Open Street Map for the blind project</a> (published <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/HaptoRender" target="_blank">HaptoRenderer</a>) - some output printed with a graphical embosser (<a href="http://bob.cakebox.net/osm/tactilosma/" target="_blank">pictures only</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h3>
<b>Commercial Projects </b></h3>
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://www.intouchgraphics.com/index.php?option=com_rsgallery2&gid=1&Itemid=71" target="_blank">Tactile Maps by Intouch Graphics</a></li>
<li> <a href="http://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/accessibleenvironments/signagewayfinding/rnibmapforall/Pages/map_for_all.aspx" target="_blank">Map for all</a> at <a href="http://www.rnib.org.uk/" target="_blank">RNBI</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.perkins.org/resources/scout/education/geography/tactile-maps.html" target="_blank">Tactile Maps by Perkins Scout</a> </li>
</ul>
<a href="http://blindreaders.info/mapgraph.html" target="_blank">More links at The Blind Readers' Page</a>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-17394609891684243932012-01-17T23:15:00.000+01:002012-01-17T23:15:46.221+01:00Motivation of scientific researchAn<a href="http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/forschung-und-lehre/motive-der-forschung-ist-der-kandidat-denn-auch-gut-vernetzt-11600466.html" target="_blank"> article in the online version of the newspaper FAZ</a> these days brought me to think about my own motivation of doing scientific research. I think it's pure curiosity - nothing more, nothing less. But in my professional environment I see at least some doctoral students that strive for relations with more senior researchers/professors/etc. I ask myself: what are their motives? Maybe, to have a better start after graduation. Maybe, because they generally like older people and want to surround themselves with they people they like. For me, it's startling because I cannot resist the feeling that the relation these people build is more of strategic nature, not real. Fortunately I see many other doctoral students whose first motivation is curiosity. And I hope that science as subject will continue to be grounded in curiosity, not in building up pure reputation networks.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-35298729734913354012011-09-29T11:18:00.000+02:002011-09-29T14:31:37.443+02:00The BSVH, Heiko Kunert and the blog Blind-PRIn <a href="http://www.hamburg.de/">Hamburg</a> there is a quite vibrant scene of blind and visually-impaired people, most prominently gathered in the <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/">BSVH, the society of blind and visually-impaired people Hamburg</a>.The activities of the BSVH are targeted at community building through joint activities, public awareness through the distribution of information, and policy advocacy through giving advice and comments to policy makers. The society <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/bsvh/nachrichten/">gathers relevant news</a>, publishes the <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/bsvh/newsletter/">newsletter "Augenblick Mail"</a> and its <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/bsvh/presse/">own press releases</a> and <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/bsvh">twitter feed</a>, has an <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/bsvh/termine/">event calender</a> and <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/infothek/">provides information about sight-related illnesses</a> and where to get help in Hamburg. Once a month there is the <a href="http://www.bsvh-treff.org/">BSVH-Treff</a>, a two-hour talk session aired by the Hamburg local radio station, that is available as podcast as well. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://blindpr.com/about/">Heiko Kunert</a>, the current public relation officer and <a href="http://www.bsvh.org/news/241/51/Der-BSVH-wird-einen-neuen-Geschaeftsfuehrer-bekommen/">designated manager general from 2012</a> on, is the most visible beacon of the active community members. He runs the <a href="http://www.blind-pr.de/">blog Blind-PR</a> where he comments on current developments of assistive technology, public policies and a diversity of issues adjacent to the needs and rights of people with special needs. Heiko supported different media in reporting about aspects of living with visual impairements, for example, in "<a href="http://www.elektrischer-reporter.de/phase3/video/249/">DIGIsellschaft"</a> for <a href="http://www.elektrischer-reporter.de/">ZDF Elektrischer Reporter</a> or in "<a href="http://www.prosieben.de/tv/galileo/videos/clip/7730-mein-leben-als-blinder-1.1659560/">Mein Leben als Blinder"</a> for <a href="http://www.prosieben.de/tv/galileo/">Pro7 Galileo</a>.Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-49163648459878141392011-09-08T11:53:00.000+02:002011-09-08T12:05:17.130+02:00Ken Forbus talked about "Sketching our way to human-level AI"On Tuesday, <a href="http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/%7Eforbus/">Ken Forbus </a> from the <a href="http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a> gave a talk "Sketching our way to human-level AI" as part of his 3-day visit to the <a href="http://www.sfbtr8.spatial-cognition.de/">SFB/TR 8 Spatial Cognition</a> research group at the University of Bremen:<br />
<br />
<pre wrap="">"This talk will summarize two large-scale efforts at Northwestern: (1) CogSketch, an open-domain sketch understanding system. Our goal with CogSketch is to make it a useful research instrument for cognitive scientists (including AI researchers) and as a platform for sketch-based educational software. (2) Companion cognitive systems, a cognitive architecture which makes analogical processing central. Our goal with Companions is to create the first software social organisms, a step towards human-level artificial intelligence. I'll focus on aspects of these efforts that might be particularly interesting from the perspective of potential collaborations: knowledge capture games to explore the semantics of spatial language, modeling 3D reasoning of engineers, learning by reading, and apprenticeship learning in a strategy game."</pre>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC7Dp5yJlbk1onD8qSgr7p8xRIKH6TujFNXXmsqpUmltFywIKLKIE5FV04FJKvCXUy-0qzs7c39UDeciwYtxNO2wAx0Ud_sXaHi2QXHPPO6XI2VfI56tKowpH57fKaQoMGtNqzfWynXM/s1600/06092011386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqC7Dp5yJlbk1onD8qSgr7p8xRIKH6TujFNXXmsqpUmltFywIKLKIE5FV04FJKvCXUy-0qzs7c39UDeciwYtxNO2wAx0Ud_sXaHi2QXHPPO6XI2VfI56tKowpH57fKaQoMGtNqzfWynXM/s400/06092011386.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For me, the talk was highly interesting as it opened up a perspective how to analyse sketches of maps in a conceptual way. <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112263417959918360697/KenForbusTalkSketchingOurWayToHumanLevelAI">Other pictures are available here</a><br />
<br />
In a personal conversation one day later, Ken took the time and discussed with me how I could use <a href="http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/index.html">CogSketch </a>in my research. This approach allows to compare sketches and helps to segment them into the basic conceptually entities. The algorithms and knowledge base behind <a href="http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/software/cogsketch/index.html">CogSketch</a> allow to compute a similarity value on the ground of spatial properties, for example, the directional relations of entities, their neighbourhood, the containment etc. CogSketch is really amazing and I will definitely give a try!<br />
<br />
Thank you Ken for your time and your advice and please continue with your collaborators to provide such great tools like CogSketch!Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-47886362509703111202011-09-08T10:33:00.000+02:002011-09-29T14:30:34.171+02:00Conferences on Tactile Maps or Cognitive Issues of NavigationRecently, the <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/">1st European State of the Map Conference</a> of the <a href="http://www.openstreetmap.org/">OpenStreetMap project</a> took place in <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/venue">Vienna, Austria</a>. <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/attendees">Participants from various countries</a> were present and listened to a bunch of<a href="https://sotm-eu.org/schedule"> interesting talks</a>. In the context of my research, the talk by <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Lulu-Ann">Annette Thurow</a> on <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/talk?54">OSM for blind users</a> was particularly insightful. How to <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/talk?23">make customized maps from OSM data with Maperitive</a> was demonstrated as well. All <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/schedule">recordings of the presentations</a> and <a href="https://sotm-eu.org/userfiles/proceedings_sotmEU2011.pdf">conference proceedings (PDF)</a> are available. <br />
<br />
Upcoming conferences and possibly relevant presentations:<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://www.braille21.net/de/willkommen">Braille21</a> in Leipzig:</li>
<ul><li>T2: Banning a Chimera with the <a href="http://www.hyperbraille.de/">Hyperbraille Display</a><br />
<i>Prof. Gerhard Weber </i></li>
</ul><li><a href="http://www.geosensor.net/cosit/">10th COSIT</a> in Belfast (US):</li>
<ul><li>Poster: Towards a theory of spatial assistance from a phenomenological perspective: Technical and social factors for blind navigation<br />
<i>Kirsten Jacobson, Nicholas A. Giudice, and Reinhard Moratz</i></li>
<li>Poster: A Conceptual framework for comparing navigation across different domains: Lessons from blind navigation<br />
<i>Julio C. Mateo</i><i> </i></li>
<li>Paper: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23196-4_2">Towards Cognitively Plausible Spatial Representations for Sketch Map Alignment</a> <br />
<i>Malumbo Chipofya, Jia Wang, Angela Schwering</i></li>
<li>Paper: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23196-4_5">The Effect of Activity on Relevance and Granularity for Navigation </a><br />
<i>Stephen Hirtle, Sabine Timpf and Thora Tenbrink</i></li>
</ul></ul>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-34604499121862224682011-08-20T01:20:00.000+02:002011-09-29T18:21:02.237+02:00Projects about constructing physical tactile maps<b><span style="font-size: large;">Projects</span></b><br />
<ul><li><b><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/DE:OSM_for_the_Blind">OpenStreetMap for the Blind</a></b></li>
</ul><ul><ul><li><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tactile_map">Definition of what a tactile map is </a>(with examples) [German]</li>
<li><a href="http://www.fossgis.de/konferenz/2011/programm/attachments/286_Lightning%20Talk%20FOSSGIS%202011%20A.%20Thurow%20Status%20der%20Projekte%20fu%CC%88r%20Blinde.pdf">Presentation "Status der Blindennavigationsprojekte" (PDF)</a> (as <a href="http://ftp5.gwdg.de/pub/misc/openstreetmap/FOSSGIS2011/FOSSGIS2011-324-de-blind.mp4">MP4) </a>by <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Lulu-Ann">Annette Thurow</a> @ <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/FOSSGIS_2011">FOSSGIS2011</a> [German]</li>
<li><a class="external text" href="http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WissensWert/59_-_Barrierefreies_Onlineportal_f%C3%BCr_Karten-_und_Routing-Services_mit_der_Schwerpunkt-Zielgruppe_blinder_Fu%C3%9Fg%C3%A4nger" rel="nofollow">Project "Barrierefreies Onlineportal für Karten- und Routing-Services"</a> by <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Lulu-Ann">Annette Thurow</a> @ Wikimedia [German] </li>
<li><a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/haptischekarten@lists.openstreetmap.de/maillist.html">OSM Mailing List "</a><span id="listlink"><a href="http://www.mail-archive.com/haptischekarten@lists.openstreetmap.de/maillist.html">haptischekarten" Archiv</a></span> [German]</li>
</ul></ul><ul><li> <a href="http://geography.uoregon.edu/geocog/products/tactile_mapping_software.html"><b>Tactile Mapping Software</b></a> @ <a href="http://geography.uoregon.edu/">Department of Geography</a> at the <a href="http://www.uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon</a></li>
<ul><li><a href="http://www.tsbvi.edu/blog/otrtech/2011/08/30/tactile-map-editor/">project overview</a> by Patrick Van Geem, Outreach Assistive Technology Consultant </li>
</ul><li><a href="http://www.ski.org/Rehab/TMAP/">TMAP</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://research.shu.ac.uk/lab4living/tactile-map">TacMap</a>. </li>
<ul></ul></ul><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Different techniques to produce physical tactile representation of space</span> </b><br />
<a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Head/HaptoRender">Tactile maps with a laser cutter</a> (<a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/w/images/4/44/Tactile_Map_Aachen.jpg">photo</a>)<br />
<a href="http://www.ski.org/Rehab/TMAP/">Tactile maps with a braille printer</a> (<a href="http://www.mcwetboy.net/maproom/images/tactile_map.jpg">photo</a>)<br />
<a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/HaptoRender#About_HaptoRender">Tactile maps with HaptoRender</a> currently <a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/w/images/b/b3/Rnk-kupfer.jpg">made from copper</a> and probably from <a href="http://www.shapeways.com/blog/archives/623-HaptoRender-Project-to-create-3D-printed-street-maps-for-the-blind.html">plastics in the future</a><br />
Tactile maps with a 3d printer (<a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ehttp://icaci.org/documents/ICC_proceedings/ICC2009/html/refer/8_4.pdf">PDF paper</a>)<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Examples of hand-crafted physical tactile representations</b></span><br />
<a href="http://arctickingdom.com/tactile-maps-of-greenland/">Ancient tactile maps of greenland</a><br />
<a href="http://www.terrainmodels.com/">Different types of terrain models, relief types and techniques</a> (ETH Zürich) <br />
Tactile maps hand-crafted made from metal in Bremen (photo), in Bergen (photo)<br />
3d models cast from copper: in <a href="http://zool.posterous.com/on-3d-printing-haptic-map-tiles-ty-realivansa">Edinburgh</a>, in Leipzig (photo)Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-86811669313732032472011-08-20T00:31:00.000+02:002011-09-29T14:19:36.454+02:00Custom production and Vendors of tactile mapsGermany:<br />
<a href="http://www.touch-hh.de/">TOUCH</a> in Hamburg <br />
<a href="http://www.deutscherhilfsmittelvertrieb.de/">Deutscher Hilfsmittelvertrieb</a> in Hannover <br />
<a href="http://www.blista.de/">Deutsche Blindenstudienanstalt (Blista)</a> in Marburg<br />
<a href="http://www.dzb.de/">DZB (Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Blinde)</a> in Leipzig<br />
<a href="http://www.grenzenlos-erfurt.de/">Grenzenlos Verlag</a> in Erfurt<br />
<br />
Abroad:<br />
<a href="http://www.trivector.se/en/the_trivector_companies/trivector_system/products_services/presentationsutrustning/tillganglighet_med_tal_och_taktila_kartor/">Trivector</a> in Toronto, Canada<br />
<a href="http://www.ski.org/">The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institut</a>e in San Francisco, California<br />
<a href="http://geography.uoregon.edu/maps/">Spatial and Map Cognition Research Lab</a> in Eugene, Oregan<br />
<a href="http://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/accessibleenvironments/signagewayfinding/rnibmapforall/Pages/map_for_all.aspx">Product Map for all</a> by Royal National Institute of Blind People <br />
<br />
More:<a href="http://www.freelists.org/post/accessibleimage/Your-Expert-Advice-is-Requested,1"> A compilation of several tactile image links </a>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-2384421308712736922011-08-20T00:02:00.000+02:002011-08-20T00:02:20.939+02:00Listing of International News Coverage about Tactile Maps<h1 class="entry-title padBtm" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>13.08.2011</b>: Universal access to recreation for all people, of all abilities: <a href="http://www.advertiser-tribune.com/page/content.detail/id/539335/Money-for-tactile-maps-awarded.html?nav=5005">Money for tactile maps awarded</a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;">03.08.2011: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/gardening/eden-project/8678895/Tactile-map-of-Eden-created-for-people-with-visual-impairments.html"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tactile map of Eden created for people with visual impairments</span></a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>11.01.2011</b>: </span><a href="https://blue-box2.appspot.com/medialt.no/news/en-US/talking-tactile-maps-as-orientation-tools-for-visually-impaired-local-areas-under-your-fingers/739.aspx"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Talking tactile maps as orientation tools for visually impaired: Local areas under your fingers</span></a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">31.05.2010:</span></span><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> <a href="http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/english/noticia.php?titulo=tactile_maps_for_blind_people&id=858">Tactile Maps for Blind People</a></span></h1><h1 class="post-title"><span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">15.03.2010:</span><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="http://arctickingdom.com/tactile-maps-of-greenland/" rel="bookmark" style="font-weight: normal;" title="Permanent Link to Tactile Maps of Greenland">Tactile Maps of Greenland</a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">18.12.2008: </span><a href="http://blog.utc.edu/news/2008/12/campus-unveils-brailletactile-maps/"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Campus unveils Braille/tactile maps</span></a></span></h1><h1 class="post-title"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">31.01.2008: </span><a href="http://science.kqed.org/quest/2008/01/31/tactile-maps/" rel="bookmark" style="font-weight: normal;" title="Permanent Link to Tactile Maps">Tactile Maps</a></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></h1><h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">01.03.2005: </span><a href="http://www.washington.edu/news/archive/id/8591"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Student researchers to present tactile maps of campus to blind students, staff</span></a></span></h1>Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-91103881827599554862011-08-15T11:04:00.000+02:002011-08-15T11:15:31.271+02:00Off-topic: For a new publication culture<h2><a href="http://www.faz.net/-0228z7">Entschleunigung of the research - however how? </a></h2>by Gerd Schwerhoff (In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung vom 10.08.2011. S.N5)<br />
<br />
"A scientific text has often hardly more reader than authors. The anthologies to conferences bind the energy of the scientist and shorten its view. A suggestion on the delimitation of the publication illusion." <br />
<a href="http://www.faz.net/-0228z7">read the whole article at FAZ.net</a> (in German)<br />
<a href="http://www.iuwis.de/Open_Access_Geisteswissenschaften_FAZ_082011">read a short wrap-up at iuwis</a> (in German)Christian Grafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470922665499357111noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3931694512697948629.post-75538391254895714862011-07-12T15:47:00.000+02:002011-09-29T18:19:44.011+02:00Media Coverage about Tactile MapsThis entry is supposed to function as a list of links to ressources and blog reports about tactile maps on the web.<br />
<br />
In a broader sense tactile maps could be everything material that is explored with the fingers and that holds an analogy to the spatial world, for example<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://middlesavagery.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/tactile-maps-and-imaginary-geographies/">Wood sticks carved by the Inuit to display coastlines</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://carterscartopia.blogspot.com/2011/03/other-tactile-maps-polynesian-stick.html">Polynesian Stick Charts to navigate the vast pacific ocean</a> </li>
</ul>Some radio reports, like <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19115820&ft=2&f=1090">this</a> and <a href="http://www.kqed.org/a/quest/R802010633">this</a> (from 2008), have investigated the topic of tactile maps and how they could help in navigating as well. Sometimes you can find a <a href="http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/dec/24/develop_maps_blind_are_created_blind/?ku_news">newspaper article on the topic</a> (from 2006). Some papers I have read as well are introduced in <a href="http://ajfowler.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/tactile-maps/">ajfowler's blog</a>. <a href="http://www.jonathancrowe.net/">Jonathan Crowe</a>'s <a href="http://www.maproomblog.com/">blog about maps</a> featured several articles on tactile maps: most notably<a href="http://www.maproomblog.com/2007/08/a_view_of_prague_for_the_blind.php"> A View of Prague for the Blind</a> and <a href="http://www.maproomblog.com/2007/03/maps_for_the_visually_impaired.php">Maps for the Visually Impaired </a>(from 2007). Some universities have founded research groups and <a href="http://infouniversidades.siu.edu.ar/english/noticia.php?titulo=tactile_maps_for_blind_people&id=858">report about it</a>.<br />
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