Semi-automated Pipeline to Produce Customizable Tactile Maps of Street Intersections for People with Visual Impairments

Abstract. Street intersections are very challenging for people with visual impairments. Manually produced tactile maps are an important support in teaching and assisting independent journeys as they can be customized to serve the visually impaired audience with diverse tactile reading and mobility skills in different use scenarios. But the manual map production involves a huge workload that makes the maps less accessible. This paper explores the possibility of semi-automatically producing customizable tactile maps for street intersections. It presents a parameterized semi-automated pipeline based on OSM data that allows the maps to be customized in size, map features, geometry processing choices, and symbolizations. It produces street intersection maps in two scales of three sizes, with different levels of details and styles.