Techniques d'interaction multimodales pour l'accès aux mathématiques par des personnes non-voyantes

Cette thèse s‟inscrit dans le domaine de l‟interaction Homme-Machine et plus précisément dans celui des interfaces multimodales destinées aux non-voyants. Elle a pour thème principal la présentation des expressions mathématiques aux non-voyants. Pour les étudiants non-voyants, apprendre les mathématiques est une tâche ardue et peut constituer une barrière, les séparant des disciplines techniques. Les travaux de recherche présentés ici décrivent les problèmes rencontrés dans la conception d‟un système permettant l‟accès aux mathématiques pour les utilisateurs déficients visuels. En effet, nous présentons une analyse des outils existants puis nous proposons des solutions pour combler leurs insuffisances. Nous exposons les techniques utilisées au sein de notre système pour répondre aux problèmes de la présentation des expressions mathématiques aux non-voyants. Nous exploitons la multimodalité comme technique d‟interaction pour développer des applications destinées à ce type d‟utilisateurs parce qu‟elle offre plusieurs opportunités grâce à sa richesse des interactions. Nous dotons également notre système d‟un comportement intelligent pour assurer une certaine autonomie à l‟utilisateur. En effet, le système est capable de présenter l‟information en fonction du contexte de l‟interaction (c-à-d. l‟utilisateur, son environnement et sa machine) et de la nature de l‟information. Le système est « pervasif » et adaptatif. L‟accès à l‟information est assuré n‟importe où n‟importe quand et il s‟adapte dynamiquement aux changements du contexte tout en fournissant continuellement des services à l‟utilisateur non-voyant, sans intervention humaine. Pour rendre le système adaptatif, nous avons élaboré un modèle qui détermine la complexité de l‟expression mathématique et nous avons intégré une technique d‟apprentissage automatique pour implémenter les mécanismes de décisions. Enfin, l‟architecture proposée est du type multi-agent. Ces techniques ont été validées par des études de cas et en utilisant les réseaux de Pétri et l‟outil de simulations JADE

Computer-assisted acquisition of information for visually impaired

The study examines various uses of computer technology in acquisition of information for visually impaired people. For this study 29 visually impaired persons took part in a survey about their experiences concerning acquisition of infomation and use of computers, especially with a screen magnification program, a speech synthesizer and a braille display. According to the responses, the evolution of computer technology offers an important possibility for visually impaired people to cope with everyday activities and interacting with the environment. Nevertheless, the functionality of assistive technology needs further development to become more usable and versatile. Since the challenges of independent observation of environment were emphasized in the survey, the study led into developing a portable text vision system called Tekstinäkö. Contrary to typical stand-alone applications, Tekstinäkö system was constructed by combining devices and programs that are readily available on consumer market. As the system operates, pictures are taken by a digital camera and instantly transmitted to a text recognition program in a laptop computer that talks out loud the text using a speech synthesizer. Visually impaired test users described that even unsure interpretations of the texts in the environment given by Tekstinäkö system are at least a welcome addition to complete perception of the environment. It became clear that even with a modest development work it is possible to bring new, useful and valuable methods to everyday life of disabled people. Unconventional production process of the system appeared to be efficient as well. Achieved results and the proposed working model offer one suggestion for giving enough attention to easily overlooked needs of the people with special abilities. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): K.4.2 Social Issues: Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities I.4.9 Image processing and computer vision: ApplicationsTutkielma tarkastelee tietotekniikan erilaisia käyttötapoja näkövammaisten tiedon hankinnassa. Tutkielmaa varten tehdyllä kyselyllä kartoitettiin 29 näkövammaisen kokemuksia tiedon hankinnasta ja tietokoneen käytöstä erityisesti hyödyntäen ruudun suurennusohjelmaa, puhesyntetisaattoria ja pistenäyttöä. Vastausten perusteella tietotekniikan kehitys tarjoaa näkövammaisille tärkeän mahdollisuuden edistää arjen askareita ja vuorovaikutteisuutta ympäristöön. Kuitenkin esimerkiksi apuvälineiden toiminnallisuutta tulisi kehittää entistä havainnollisemmaksi ja monipuolisemmaksi. Kun ympäristön omatoimisen havainnoinnin haasteet korostuivat kyselyssä, osana tutkimusta kehitettiin mukana kuljetettava Tekstinäkö-järjestelmä. Perinteisestä omavaraisesta tuotantotavasta poiketen Tekstinäkö-järjestelmä koostettiin kuluttajamarkkinoilla olevista valmiista laitteista ja ohjelmista. Järjestelmässä digitaalikameralla otettavat kuvat johdetaan tuoreeltaan kannettavassa tietokoneessa toimivaan tekstintunnistusohjelmaan, ja kuvista tulkitut tekstit lausutaan puhesyntetisaattorilla. Näkövammaiset koekäyttäjät kuvailivat kehitetyn järjestelmän antamia epävarmojakin tulkintoja ympäristön teksteistä vähintään tervetulleeksi lisäksi täydentämään näkymän hahmottamista. Tuli ilmi, että jo pienelläkin kehitystyöllä voidaan vammaisten arkeen tuoda hyödyllisiä ja arvokkaitakin uusia menetelmiä. Myös järjestelmän ennakkoluuloton tuotantotapa osoittautui tehokkaaksi. Saadut tulokset ja esitetty toimintamalli tarjoavat eväitä helposti katveeseen jäävien erityisryhmien tarpeiden huomioimiseksi niille kuuluvalla painokkuudella nyt ja vastaisuudessa. ACM Computing Classification System (1998) -luokitus: K.4.2 Social Issues: Assistive technologies for persons with disabilities I.4.9 Image processing and computer vision: Application

Interaction paradigms for brain-body interfaces for computer users with brain injuries

In comparison to all types of injury, those to the brain are among the most likely to result in death or permanent disability. Some of these brain-injured people cannot communicate, recreate, or control their environment due to severe motor impairment. This group of individuals with severe head injury have received limited help from assistive technology. Brain-Computer Interfaces have opened up a spectrum of assistive technologies, which are particularly appropriate for people with traumatic brain injury, especially those who suffer from “locked-in” syndrome. The research challenge here is to develop novel interaction paradigms that suit brain-injured individuals, who could then use it for everyday communications. The developed interaction paradigms should require minimum training, reconfigurable and minimum effort to use. This thesis reports on the development of novel interaction paradigms for Brain-Body Interfaces to help brain-injured people to communicate better, recreate and control their environment using computers despite the severity of their brain injury. The investigation was carried out in three phases. Phase one was an exploratory study where a first novel interaction paradigm was developed and evaluated with able-bodied and disabled participants. Results obtained were fed into the next phase of the investigation. Phase two was carried out with able participants who acted as development group for the second novel interaction paradigm. This second novel interaction paradigm was evaluated with non-verbal participants with severe brain injury in phase three. An iterative design research methodology was chosen to develop the interaction paradigms. A non-invasive assistive technology device named Cyberlink™ was chosen as the Brain-Body Interface. This research improved previous work in this area by developing new interaction paradigms of personalised tiling and discrete acceleration in Brain- Body Interfaces. The research hypothesis of this study ‘that the performance of the Brain-Body Interface can be improved by the use of novel interaction paradigms’ was successfully demonstrated.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Designing for disability: Guidance for designers when working with users with Specific, Critical, Additional Needs (SCAN)

This study provides guidelines to help designers make reasoned methodological choices when working with those that have disabilities, in order to enable the effective interpretation of the views of these users and to ensure that these are taken into account in the design of products and services. A new way of categorising such users led to a definition by the researcher of Specific, Critical, Additional Needs (SCAN). Individuals with SCAN have additional needs that have to be met in order to maintain their quality of life, health, safety and wellbeing but are additional to those of everyday critical needs. Following an extensive review of models of disability and design, together with the legal and social contexts (including public attitudes to disability), as well as resources from the design and ergonomics communities and existing research methods available to designers when working with SCAN users, it was found that there were relatively few studies that examined the appropriateness of methods for understanding the requirements of these users in design and evaluation processes. Through focus groups, advice was gathered from designers, some of whom were experienced in working collaboratively with disabled persons. Following this, several semi-structured interviews took place with a representative sample of SCAN users, carers, support workers, health and social care professionals and family members. Analysis of these interviews, backed by evidence from the literature, led to the creation of guidelines. The guidelines take account of best practice in designing from a user-centred viewpoint, and a number of tried and tested research methods are reviewed in detail. The study also highlights the range of disabilities that should be considered by designers in shaping specifications for new products and services, and the need to treat users appropriately to ensure an accurate account is taken of their needs

Web accessibility

In dieser Arbeit wird erstmalig ein holistischer Ansatz zur Ermittlung der betriebswirtschaftlichen Implikationen von barrierefreien Webpräsenzen vorgestellt, welcher die Barrierefreiheit aus zwei Perspektiven (Organisation, Behörde) analysiert. Die organisationale Dimension umfasst die Entwicklung eines fallstudienbasierten Rahmenwerks für eine explorative Analyse der betriebswirtschaftlichen Implikationen von Barrierefreiheit sowie dessen Anwendung auf Organisationen in drei verschiedenen Unternehmenssektoren: Tourismus, Finanzdienstleistungen und Information. Die Ergebnisse dieser Fallstudie stellen einen ersten betriebswirtschaftlichen Ansatz dar, um die wirtschaftlichen Implikationen von barrierefreiem Web zu identifizieren und dienen somit als wichtige Entscheidungsunterstützung für das Management. Die wiederholte Anwendung dieser Methode führt zu einer beliebig erweiterbaren Fallstudiensammlung, welche eine wichtige Basis für weitere quantitative und qualitative Forschung bildet. Die behördliche Dimension dieser Arbeit untersucht ausgewählte Strategiealternativen zur Etablierung eines einheitlichen Web Accessibility Gütesiegels in Österreich. Dafür wird ein antizipativer Ansatz verwendet, welcher das Bestehen eines normativen Dokuments und einer Evaluationsmethodik voraussetzt. In einer Szenarienanalyse werden vier Strategiealternativen entwickelt und evaluiert. Ferner wird ein flexibles Geschäftsmodell für ein österreichisches Gütesiegel entwickelt, um in weiterer Folge Entscheidungsträger bei der Auswahl einer geeigneten Herangehensweise auf nationaler Ebene zu unterstützen und somit eine europakonforme Realisierung eines Gütesiegels unabhängig vom Fortschritt internationaler Standardisierungsbemühungen zu erleichtern.This thesis develops a holistic approach for the analysis of business implications of accessible web presences which encompasses two strongly interrelated perspectives (organization and authority). The organizational part introduces a case study research based framework for an exploratory analysis of web accessibility implications which is applied to organizations in three business sectors. The case study draws on a triangulation approach and considers the opposing insights of organizations with and without successful web accessibility implementation in the tourism, financial services and information sector. The findings of this case study research constitute a first managerial approach to identify the business impacts of web accessibility and generate a sound basis for management decision recommendations. The reapplication of this methodology to any real world case results in a case study collection that can be extended continuously. This collection represents an important basis for further quantitative and qualitative research. The authority perspective of this thesis explores viable alternatives for implementing the European web accessibility quality mark in Austria. A look-ahead approach is applied that assumes the release of a normative document and an evaluation methodology in the near future. A scenario analysis includes the development of four scenarios and their evaluation in terms of six criteria. Moreover, a flexible business model for an Austrian web accessibility quality mark that fits into a possible European framework and at the same time facilitates and accelerates national implementation is introduced

An Online Learning Platform for English as a second language for young deaf Indian Sign Language users: usage patterns and user engagement

This study examines the learning of written English as a second language by young deaf Indian adults on an English Learning Platform. The overriding concern in deaf education has always, of necessity, been basic literacy (Carlson, 1996; Wilbur, 2000). In this study, deaf students in India have been taught by a classroom teacher and use an online learning environment for further instruction and reinforcement. The advent of computer-mediated learning in the last ten years has led to the central function and role of computers as learning aids and this type of learning has garnered a substantial amount of interest. This research investigates the use of an English Learning Platform (ELP3) as a provision that facilitates and enhances learning for sign language users learning English as a second language (L2) through the signed and the written mediums (Pandian, 2006). Use of an ELP3 environment is complicated by the fact that sign languages rely on faceto-face communication (Johnson & Johnson, 1986), so it is necessary to ascertain whether the lack of face-to-face visual attention and cues in the ELP3 affects learning abilities. Studies of L2 classroom interaction suggest that co-operative and comprehensible interactions facilitate L2 learning (Kitade, 2000). A statistical study of event log data drawn from the ELP3 and a questionnaire is used here to generate an understanding of how the online platform is used by a group of deaf learners and indicates that they generally like the ELP3 with some preference for certain features. Results of the study demonstrate that the frequency of access to the platform decreased through the duration of the research and the findings indicate a clear preference for signed explanations of topics. In addition, focus group interviews serve to determine deaf students‟ views of using the ELP3 and suggest that the group consider the ELP3 to be a favourable route to learning English alongside classroom tuition in a blended learning approach. The ELP3 offers potential benefits for L2 learning because it provides a broad range of interactions, involving different levels of proficiency, and these and other issues are considered at length in this thesis

The Useworthiness of Robots for People with Physical Disabilities

This thesis deals with robotics and the new possibilities it offers people with physical disabilities. I focus on the user and the use of the technology and, in particular, on what makes robotic aids worth using - useworthiness as distinguished from usability. User experience of the wheelchair-mounted Manus manipulator shows that robotic arms must meet technical requirements in terms of acceleration, speed, and pattern of movement. Easy horizontal and vertical adjustment of the end-effector is another requirement which must be met to enable a user to carry out the most common movements faster with less concentration. Experience of the useworthiness of robots was first obtained through the development of page-turning end-effectors for the RAID workstation. The principles of separating pages and the page-turning movements are analyzed and described in this thesis. End-effectors are essential to the functionality and useworthiness of robots. The performance requirements for the automatic grasping function for simplified robot use have been brought out through user trials. The thesis demonstrates that user trials with robots as assistive devices can result in new knowledge about both the use of the technology itself and the personal characteristics - needs, abilities, wishes, and dreams - of the user. Parts of the thesis have already been published or will be published in the form of articles and conference papers: - Robotics in rehabilitation. IEEE Transactions on Rehabilitation Engineering, vol. 3, no 1, pp. 77-83, March 1995. - The Manus Manipulator as a Tool for Rehabilitation. To be published in the Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. - Technical results from Manus user trials. Proceedings of the sixth International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), pp. 136-141, Stanford, California, USA, July 1999. - Robot control methods and results from user trials on the RAID workstation. Proceedings of the fourth International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics (ICORR), pp. 97-101, Wilmington, Delaware, USA, June 1994. - RAID - A Robotic Workstation for the Disabled. Proceedings of the 2nd European Conference on the Advancement of Rehabilitation Technology (ECART 2), pp. 24.3, Stockholm, Sweden, May 1993

The Effect of Enhanced Navigational Affordances on College Students' Comprehension of Informational Auditory Text, and the Role of Metacognitive and Motivational Factors

A proliferation of natural speech audio texts as well as improvements in synthetic text-to-speech technology have created new opportunities for learners. While many studies have examined factors affecting comprehension of print texts, few have examined factors affecting comprehension of audio texts and fewer still the effects of specific moderating variables. This study examines the effects of navigational affordance use on comprehension of informational audio texts. Factors of metacomprehension, including self-regulation and rehearsal, as well as motivational factors of interest, effort regulation, and test anxiety were studied for their relationship to the use of navigational affordances. The study utilized a mobile application distributed through the iTunes® store to administer the experimental procedure. Students enrolled in an introductory political science course at a large state university were solicited to participate. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. The experimental group (N = 74) had access to enhanced navigational affordances including pause and continue, forward by sentence, forward by paragraph, backward by sentence, and backward by paragraph. The control group (N = 11) only had access to pause and continue affordances. Results indicate that the presence of enhanced navigational affordances did not demonstrate a significant difference in comprehension between the experimental and control groups. However, there was a significant correlation between navigational affordance use and comprehension. The data indicate the relationship may be curvilinear meaning that affordance use is more frequent for learners with average comprehension, and less frequent for high and low comprehension learners. Metacomprehension and motivational factors were not significantly correlated with navigational affordance use. Motivational factors did positively correlate with comprehension for both groups with an F = 5.49 and α = 0.002. Beta weights for the three factors were 0.29 for interest, -0.35 for test anxiety, and 0.003 for motivation. Information on distractions during the study were also collected. Some participants demonstrated a pattern of skipping behavior when using navigational affordances in which they would quickly navigate through the audio text. The study platform could be used to administer other kinds of audio text comprehension experiments

What you see is what you feel : on the simulation of touch in graphical user interfaces

This study introduces a novel method of simulating touch with merely visual means. Interactive animations are used to create an optical illusion that evokes haptic percepts like stickiness, stiffness and mass, within a standard graphical user interface. The technique, called optically simulated hapic feedback, exploits the domination of the visual over the haptic modality and the general human tendency to integrate between the various senses. The study began with an aspiration to increase the sensorial qualities of the graphical user interface. With the introduction of the graphical user interface – and in particular the desktop metaphor – computers have become accessible for almost anyone; all over the world, people from various cultures use the same icons, folders, buttons and trashcans. However, from a sensorial point of view this computing paradigm is still extremely limited. Touch can play a powerful role in communication. It can offer an immediacy and intimacy unparalleled by words or images. Although few doubt this intrinsic value of touch perception in everyday life, examples in modern technology where human-machine communication utilizes the tactile and kinesthetic senses as additional channels of information flow are scarce. Hence, it has often been suggested that improvements in the sensorial qualities of computers could lead to more natural interfaces. Various researchers have been creating scenarios and technologies that should enrich the sensorial qualities of our digital environment. Some have developed mechanical force feedback devices that enable people to experience haptics while interacting with a digital display. Others have suggested that the computer should ‘disappear’ into the environment and proposed tangible objects as a means to connect between the digital and the physical environment. While the scenarios of force feedback, tangible interactions and the disappearing computer are maturing, millions of people are still working with a desktop computer interface every day. In spite of its obvious drawbacks, the desktop computing model penetrated deeply into our society and cannot be expected to disappear overnight. Radically different computing paradigms will require the development of radically different hardware. This takes time and it is yet unsure when, if so, other computing paradigms will replace the current desktop computing setup. It is for that reason, that we pursued another approach towards physical computing. Inspired by renaissance painters, who already centuries ago invented illusionary techniques like perspective and trompe d’oeil to increase the presence of their paintings, we aim to improve the physicality of the graphical user interface, without resorting to special hardware. Optically simulated haptic feedback, described in this thesis, has a lot in common with mechanical force-feedback systems, except for the fact that in mechanical force-feedback systems the location of the cursor is manipulated as a result of the force sent to the haptic device (force-feedback mouse, trackball, etc), whereas in our system the cursor location is directly manipulated, resulting in an purely visual force feedback. By applying tiny displacements upon the cursor’s movement, tactile sensations like stickiness, touch, or mass can be simulated. In chapter 2 we suggest that the active cursor technique can be applied to create richer interactions without the need for special hardware. The cursor channel is transformed from an input only to an input/output channel. The active cursor displacements can be used to create various (dynamic) slopes as well as textures and material properties, which can provide the user with feedback while navigating the on-screen environment. In chapter 3 the perceptual illusion of touch, resulting from the domination of the visual over the haptic modality, is described in a larger context of prior research and experimentally tested. Using both the active cursor technique and a mechanical force feedback device, we generated bumps and hole structures. In a controlled experiment the perception of the slopes was measured, comparing between the optical and the mechanical simulation. Results show that people can recognize optically simulated bump and hole structures, and that active cursor displacements influence the haptic perception of bumps and holes. Depending on the simulated strength of the force, optically simulated haptic feedback can take precedence over mechanically simulated haptic feedback, but also the other way around. When optically simulated and mechanically simulated haptic feedback counteract each other, however, the weight attributed to each source of haptic information differs between users. It is concluded that active cursor displacements can be used to optically simulate the operation of mechanical force feedback devices. An obvious application of optically simulated haptic feedback in graphical user interfaces, is to assist the user in pointing at icons and objects on the screen. Given the pervasiveness of pointing in graphical interfaces, every small improvement in a target-acquisition task, represents a substantial improvement in usability. Can active cursor displacements be applied to help the user reach its goal? In chapter 4 we test the usability of optically simulated haptic feedback in a pointing task, again in comparison with the force feedback generated by a mechanical device. In a controlled Fitts’-law type experiment, subjects were asked to point and click at targets of different sizes and distances. Results learn that rendering hole type structures underneath the targets improves the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the target acquisition task. Optically simulated haptic feedback results in lower error rates, more satisfaction, and a higher index of performance, which can be attributed to the shorter movement times realized for the smaller targets. For larger targets, optically simulated haptic feedback resulted in comparable movement times as mechanically simulated haptic feedback. Since the current graphical interfaces are not designed with tactility in mind, the development of novel interaction styles should also be an important research path. Before optically simulated haptic feedback can be fully brought into play in more complex interaction styles, designers and researchers need to further experiment with the technique. In chapter 5 we describe a software prototyping toolkit, called PowerCursor, which enables designers to create interaction styles using optically simulated haptic feedback, without having to do elaborate programming. The software engine consists of a set of ready force field objects – holes, hills, ramps, rough and slick objects, walls, whirls, and more – that can be added to any Flash project, as well as force behaviours that can be added to custom made shapes and objects. These basic building blocks can be combined to create more complex and dynamic force objects. This setup should allow the users of the toolkit to creatively design their own interaction styles with optically simulated haptic feedback. The toolkit is implemented in Adobe Flash and can be downloaded at www.powercursor.com. Furthermore, in chapter 5 we present a preliminary framework of the expected applicability of optically simulated haptic feedback. Illustrated with examples that have been created with the beta-version of the PowerCursor toolkit so far, we discuss some of the ideas for novel interaction styles. Besides being useful in assisting the user while navigating, optically simulated haptic feedback might be applied to create so-called mixed initiative interfaces – one can for instance think of an installation wizard, which guides the cursor towards the recommended next step. Furthermore since optically simulated haptic feedback can be used to communicate material properties of textures or 3D objects, it can be applied to create aesthetically pleasing interactions – which with the migration of computers into other domains than the office environment are becoming more relevant. Finally we discuss the opportunities for applications outside the desktop computer model. We discuss how, in principle, optically simulated haptic feedback can play a role in any graphical interface where the input and output channels are decoupled. In chapter 6 we draw conclusions and discuss future directions. We conclude that optically simulated haptic feedback can increase the physicality and quality of our current graphical user interfaces, without resorting to specialistic hardware. Users are able to recognize haptic structures simulated by applying active cursor displacements upon the users mouse movements. Our technique of simulating haptic feedback optically opens up an additional communication channel with the user that can enhance the usability of the graphical interface. However, the active cursor technique is not to be expected to replace mechanical haptic feedback altogether, since it can be applied only in combination with a visual display and thus will not work for visually impaired people. Rather, we expect the ability to employ tactile interaction styles in a standard graphical user interface, could catalyze the development of novel physical interaction styles and on the long term might instigate the acceptance of haptic devices. With this research we hope to have contributed to a more sensorial and richer graphical user interface. Moreover we have aimed to increase our awareness and understanding of media technology and simulations in general. Therefore, our scientific research results are deliberately presented within a social-cultural context that reflects upon the dominance of the visual modality in our society and the ever-increasing role of media and simulations in people’s everyday lives

Interactive maps for visually impaired people : design, usability and spatial cognition

Connaître la géographie de son environnement urbain est un enjeu important pour les personnes déficientes visuelles. Des cartes tactiles en relief sont généralement utilisées mais elles présentent des limitations importantes (nombre limité d'informations, recours à une légende braille). Les nouvelles technologies permettent d'envisager des solutions innovantes. Nous avons conçu et développé une carte interactive accessible, en suivant un processus de conception participative. Cette carte est basée sur un dispositif multi-touch, une carte tactile en relief et une sortie sonore. Ce dispositif permet au sujet de recueillir des informations en double-cliquant sur certains objets de la carte. Nous avons démontré expérimentalement que ce prototype était plus efficace et plus satisfaisant pour des utilisateurs déficients visuels qu'une carte tactile simple. Nous avons également exploré et testé différents types d'interactions avancées accessibles pour explorer la carte. Cette thèse démontre l'importance des cartes tactiles interactives pour les déficients visuels et leur cognition spatiale.Knowing the geography of an urban environment is crucial for visually impaired people. Tactile relief maps are generally used, but they retain significant limitations (limited amount of information, use of braille legend, etc.). Recent technological progress allows the development of innovative solutions which overcome these limitations. In this thesis, we present the design of an accessible interactive map through a participatory design process. This map is composed by a multi-touch screen with tactile map overlay and speech output. It provides auditory information when tapping on map elements. We have demonstrated in an experiment that our prototype was more effective and satisfactory for visually impaired users than a simple raised-line map. We also explored and tested different types of advanced non-visual interaction for exploring the map. This thesis demonstrates the importance of interactive tactile maps for visually impaired people and their spatial cognition