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Cited by 20Tactile and Sensory InteractionsDigital Accessibility for DisabilitiesAssistive Technology in Communication and Mobility

Non-visual Perception of Lines on a Multimodal Touchscreen Tablet

Open access
Tennison, Jennifer L., Gorlewicz, Jenna L.·2019·ACM Transactions on Applied Perception
DOI 10.1145/3301415
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Abstract

While text-to-speech software has largely made textual information accessible in the digital space, analogous access to graphics still remains an unsolved problem. Because of their portability and ubiquity, several studies have alluded to touchscreens as a potential platform for such access, yet there is still a gap in our understanding of multimodal information transfer in the context of graphics. The current research demonstrates feasibility for following lines, a fundamental graphical concept, via vibrations and sounds on commercial touchscreens. Two studies were run with 21 blind and visually impaired participants ( N = 12; N = 9). The first study examined the presentation of straight, linear lines using a multitude of line representations, such as vibration-only, auditory-only, vibration lines with auditory borders, and auditory lines with vibration borders. The results of this study demonstrated that both auditory and vibratory bordered lines were optimal for precise tracing, although both vibration- and auditory-only lines were also sufficient for following, with minimal deviations. The second study examined the presentation of curving, non-linear lines. Conditions differed on the number of auditory reference points presented at the inflection and deflection points. Participants showed minimal deviation from the lines during tracing, performing nearly equally in both 1- and 3-point conditions. From these studies, we demonstrate that line following via multimodal feedback is possible on touchscreens, and we present guidelines for the presentation of such non-visual graphical concepts.

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  • Using a different feedback modality at vertices helps with shape identification.

    “This approach carries over into shape exploration, where marking vertices with a different modality of feedback aids in shape identification [24,72].”

    From Design Guidelines and Recommendations for Multimodal, Touchscreen-based Graphics (2020) · cites this paper as [72]

    Section 1.1.1 reports prior work in which stronger vibrations or different sounds at vertices facilitated shape recognition. Section 4.3 uses auditory cues at key points on vibrating lines, but describes improved performance from separating the cues by modality as an expectation; this paper does not establish that switching modality at vertices improves shape identification. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Switching vibratory signals at vertex points aids in shape identification accuracy for basic shapes up to five vertices.

    “we investigated the identification of basic shapes (up to five vertices) on a vibratory touchscreen and found that switching vibratory signals (e.g., increasing the intensity of the vibration) at the vertex points aids in shape identification accuracy [72].”

    From Design Guidelines and Recommendations for Multimodal, Touchscreen-based Graphics (2020) · cites this paper as [72]

    Sections 3.2 and 4.3 (pages unavailable) describe line-tracing studies: one used different vibration patterns at line endpoints, while the other used auditory cues at bends. The Results in section 3.4 report line-recreation accuracy, not identification of basic shapes. Searches for shapes, five vertices, and vibratory cues at vertices found no passage testing the claimed effect on shape-identification accuracy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Across multiple experiments, users also used techniques such as making crosses at vertices to locate connecting segments and scanning horizontally to find symmetry.

    “We have also aggregated shape and line exploration strategies observed across multiple experiments and found that users employed additional techniques including making crosses at vertex points to find connecting line segments (B) and scanning horizontally across the shape to uncover symmetry (C) [29,72].”

    From Design Guidelines and Recommendations for Multimodal, Touchscreen-based Graphics (2020) · cites this paper as [72]

    Section 4.6 (page unavailable) reports that two participants used zigzag or circular movements to follow lines, but it does not describe making crosses at vertices or scanning horizontally to find symmetry. Searches for those techniques, including “vertex” and “symmetry,” found no passage in our copy addressing them. (LLM, conf=0.75)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [7]7. J. P. Fritz, T. P. Way, and K. E. Barner. 1996. Haptic representation of scientific data for visually impaired or blind persons. In Proceedings of the CSUN Conference on Technology and Disability. Citeseer.
  2. [9]9. N. A. Giudice. 2006. Wayfinding without vision: Learning real and virtual environments using dynamically updated verbal descriptions. In Proceedings of the Conference on Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impairment (CVHI'06).

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Related

Authors
Tennison, J. L., & Gorlewicz, J. L.
Affiliations
Saint Louis University (US)
ORCID
Venue
ACM Transactions on Applied Perception
Publisher
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published
2019-01-31
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
1-19
ISSN
  • 1544-3558 (ISSN-L)
  • 1544-3965
DOI
10.1145/3301415
OpenAlex
W2911316599
Cited by
20
References
35
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 6 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
FWCI
1.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Locations
ACM Transactions on Applied Perception (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (1644538)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
  • Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Digital Accessibility for Disabilities
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Assistive Technology in Communication and Mobility
Keywords
non-visual perception, line following, multimodal feedback, haptic feedback, auditory feedback, visually impaired users, blind users, curves, inflection point

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