Grid Overlay Map Interaction for Visually Impaired Users
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current map applications, such as iPhone OS's VoiceOver accessibility feature, do not effectively assist visually-impaired users in interacting with maps, as they only provide audio descriptions of movement and zoom levels, leaving vast map functionalities unutilized.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that displays a map with an overlaid grid, where each cell corresponds to a location, allowing users to select and retrieve information associated with those locations, and outputs this information as speech segments, enabling exploration, discovery, and interaction with geographical features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If VoiceOver accessibility feature is used for map interaction, then audio descriptions of movement and zoom levels are provided, but map functionalities remain unutilized and user interaction capability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The map is divided into a grid of cells, where each cell represents a specific geographic location. This segmentation allows visually-impaired users to interact with the map by selecting individual cells, enabling comprehensive access to map functionalities including search, exploration, and information retrieval that were previously unavailable
Solution Approach 2:
A screen reader acts as an intermediary between the visually-impaired user and the map interface. The screen reader provides audio feedback when users select grid cells, describing geographic features and locations, thereby enabling full map functionality utilization through audio-mediated interaction
2Loss of information
If audio descriptions are provided only for movement and zoom, then VoiceOver accessibility is maintained, but information accessibility for exploration and search is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The map is pre-divided into a grid structure with each cell corresponding to a specific location before user interaction. This preliminary organization enables the screen reader to provide immediate and structured information about geographic features when users select cells, eliminating the need for complex real-time processing while maximizing information accessibility
Data Source
AI summary
Map interactivity for a visually-impaired user is provided. A map is displayed on a display module of a device and a grid is overlaid onto the displayed map using a rendering module. Each cell of the grill corresponds to a location on the map. Further, a user selection is received using the input module concerning a cell of the grid from the displayed map. Information associated with a selected cell is retrieved using the location module within the device and a speech segment relating to the information is output using an output module.