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Auditory GIS

Much of the work in GIS interface development assumes that the user will perceive the display through vision. As a powerful tool across many applied fields, however, the target user group for GIS software should also include users who are blind or low vision. We developed an auditory GIS to serve two roles: a product for the end user and a research instrument to explore spatial cognition.

Our minimal geographic information system (mGIS) provides an auditory display of geospatial data in the form of a univariate thematic map. Users control the mGIS through a tablet with stylus input device, which augments the auditory display with proprioceptive feedback. The display is independent of any visual feedback.

The Java-based implementation produces both non-speech (Java Sound API) and speech (JAWS) feedback as the user actively controls a virtual cursor and makes selections from the application menu. The current functionality includes filtering data based on attribute, nearest neighbor, and cluster size. It also provides a function to dissolve internal boundaries of a cluster. The symbology supports three levels of a categorical variables associated with polygon features, a representation of lines that form polygon borders, and a symbol to indicate that the cursor is beyond the extent of the map data.

The mGIS has been evaluated as a research instrument that presents an educational intervention, which was designed to teach the concept of region. Users are guided through a sequence of steps that present the fundamental concepts of classification, proximity, cluster, and boundary. Participants use the mGIS to explore a series of maps that illustrate each concept.

The mGIS was developed in collaboration with researchers in theĀ Department of Computer and Information Science.

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Publications

Posters and Presentations

  • M. Brittell, A. Lobben, and M. Young (2014) Auditory Symbology for a GIS. Annual Conference of the North American Cartographic Information Society, Mapping with your Hands.
  • M. Brittell and M. Young (2013) Auditory Display of Spatial Data. University of Oregon, Department of Computer and Information Science, Poster competition.
  • N. Afrin Chowdhury and M. Brittell (2011) Map Sonification for Accessibility. Advisors: M. Young and A. Lobben. University of Oregon, Department of Computer and Information Science, Poster competition.

Funding Sources

This project supported by grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute (NIH NEI 1RC1EY020316). Amy Lobben, PI and Michal Young, Co-PI.