GRAPHICS COMPLEXITY OF TACTILE MAPS AND USER STUDY

ABSTRACT

The most of information is linked to the geospace location. This information can be represented on the map. For some kinds of users, the maps have to be created in a different way than is usual. People with visual impairments are such a target group of users. The number of visually impaired people increases every year and to their fullfledged integration into society is devoted considerable attention. The tactile maps are an essential element of current cartographical research. Presented study is focused on the assessment of the graphics complexity of the modern type of tactile maps, created on the 3D printers. The modern type of 3D tactile maps created at the Department of Geoinformatics, Palacký University Olomouc, is made concerning the cartographic semiology. The theory of cartographic features and their use involve the academic disciplines of semantics, syntactic, grammar and pragmatics, and also focus the type of maps for which cartographic features are used. The assessment of the graphics complexity of tactile maps was implemented as a case study within the project focusing on the creation of tactile maps and user issues in this field. There were evaluated selected metrics of existing tactile maps and the complexity of information presented in the maps. The results provide some general recommendations for the production of the tactile maps and clarify the importance of user issues and user testing.

Keywords: tactile map; graphic complexity; map content; geospace visualization