Title: FluxMarker: Enhancing Tactile Graphics with Dynamic Tactile Markers,
Abstract: For people with visual impairments, tactile graphics are an important means
to learn and explore information. However, raised line tactile graphics created
with traditional materials such as embossing are static. While available
refreshable displays can dynamically change the content, they are still too
expensive for many users, and are limited in size. These factors limit
wide-spread adoption and the representation of large graphics or data sets. In
this paper, we present FluxMaker, an inexpensive scalable system that renders
dynamic information on top of static tactile graphics with movable tactile
markers. These dynamic tactile markers can be easily reconfigured and used to
annotate static raised line tactile graphics, including maps, graphs, and
diagrams. We developed a hardware prototype that actuates magnetic tactile
markers driven by low-cost and scalable electromagnetic coil arrays, which can
be fabricated with standard printed circuit board manufacturing. We evaluate
our prototype with six participants with visual impairments and found positive
results across four application areas: location finding or navigating on
tactile maps, data analysis, and physicalization, feature identification for
tactile graphics, and drawing support. The user study confirms advantages in
application domains such as education and data exploration.