Unique Challenge: Map for the blind

[Hai-Etlik]

I don't know anything about speech emulators either, but if it has to be over the internet, what about creating some type of flash-based webpage map with a system of mouse-over labels that play audio? Probably work best with a touchscreen device. I also don't know anything about flash website building, but you might ask a site designer if it's a possibility.

My understanding is that Flash is pretty much unusable in terms of non-visual accessibility. I'd also expect blind computer users would be more likely to use keyboards or voice recognition than mice so they would be less likely to have a good sense of mouse position. Mice are also rather imprecise for that sort of thing. As you said, a touch interface would be better, or a digitizer. A digitizer with a haptic feedback stylus could work very well.

[Redrobes]

Interesting concepts here. I think the first thing you need to know is the bounds for what is acceptable for the format. Are they 100% blind or visually impaired such that if big enough they could see enough to make it out. Also could they see enough so that you could color code it in some way. If 100% blind then whats the full set of options for a blind person on the end of the internet. I dont know if text to speech is the only one and what web interface is there for haptic devices ? I have never heard of one. Since sound is common and haptic is extremely rare then maybe a map covered with sound cues would be the best option. But you need to know what limits you have before you can decide how best to implement a map like that.

[anstett]

Use your colors and font types to change terrain.

next to next to plains next to next to

(starting point) to the East is the town of Billingswop which sits on the edge of the swamps that are bordered by the Shorn Hills nestled along the CATASTROPHE MOUNTAINS. To the South is the Lake of swans with the River of dreams that leads to the Ocean.

Then I think the text to speech emulator will pick up on the text changes and give them the auditory version of the text clues.

BOB

[Jaxilon]

Hmm, maybe you might want to consider solving this in another way. If it's not for print in braille and more for a speech unit then the whole thing shouldn't be visual at all. We all might be hung up on that visual crutch just because we can see.

How about making it like a music box where flat land has one sound, hills go up a note, valleys down and mountains would escalate to a higher pitch entirely. Imagine a soundtrack for topography.