Graphics and user's exploration via simple sonics (GUESS): Providing interrelational representation of objects in a non-visual environment

Abstract

In this research we investigated the use of the GUESS system in the exploration of auditory pattern perception by blind and visually impaired people. We have compared three different techniques for presenting graphical scenes via non-speech sounds: one based on the physical tablet, one on the virtual-sonic grid, and one on sound localization techniques. In each technique we utilized a 2D sound plane to represent different geometric shapes. As an input device, we used a graphical tablet in order to explore the images rendered. We have conducted a pilot study with three groups of four participants each. Our results have shown that with the second and third techniques, blind people were able, within a relatively short space of time, to precisely identify the interrelation of simple geometric shapes. They have also shown that, in the second technique, assigning a non-speech sound to a region located in the center of the tablet reduced the navigation time when relocating specific shapes. As to the first technique, it received the lowest time rating for relocating objects. Our findings indicate that the method of presenting interrelation in auditory interface designs does indeed play an important role in assisting users comprehend the diagrams communicated.