Interactive Tactile Map at Google ADC Milan

The Google Accessibility Discovery Center (ADC) in Milan, Italy includes a tactile map of the ADC space. This tactile map has now been made interactive: when a user points to a feature on the tactile map with their index finger, the name and description of the feature are immediately read aloud. This function enhances the accessibility of the map for blind and low vision visitors to the ADC who may not read braille, and makes it easy for all visitors to learn about the map.

This system works by combining the tactile map of the ADC with the CamIO (short for “Camera Input-Output”) project developed in a collaboration between The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, California and the University of Milan. It uses a version of CamIO called CamIO-Web, which runs entirely in the browser. The system runs on an Android smartphone mounted above the map to obtain a clear view of it.