Tangible and body-based interaction with auditory maps

Blind people face a significant challenge navigating through the world, especially in novel environments. Maps, the most common of navigational aids, are of little use to the blind, who could benefit greatly from the information they contain. Recent work in auditory maps has shown the potential for delivering spatial information through sound. Users control their position and orientation on a digitally enhanced map and listen for the location of important landmarks. Orientation control is important because sound localization cues can sometimes be ambiguous, especially when in front of and behind a listener. Previous devices have used a tangible interface, in which users manipulate a small motion tracked object, to allow users to control their position and orientation on a map. Motivated by research that has identified the importance of body-based cues, from the joints, muscles and vestibular system in spatial perception, we expanded on previous interfaces by constructing an auditory map prototype that allows users to control their orientation through natural head movements. A pilot study was conducted to compare the head-movement-based interface to a tangible interface.