This is a joint project between the Geography and Computer Science departments at the University of Oregon. The project is spearheaded by Amy Lobben (Department of Geography, University of Oregon) and Michal Young (Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Oregon).

Most if not all universities provide campus maps to the general audience. But persons with blindness or visual impairment require maps that can be used with modalities other than sight. A collaboration between a group of students in geography and computer science made a haptic soundscape map to accommodate the special needs of this population on the University of Oregon campus. A haptic soundscape map is a cartographic representation that uses both auditory and haptic (dynamic touch) cues to represent spatial information.

Follow this link to the The Haptic Soundscape Map.

User Instructions:
E: Zoom In
Q: Zoom Out
R: Hear the name of the current cell

While zoomed in:
A: Move Left
S: Move Down
D: Move Right
W: Move Up

Turn on and off layers:
0: Grid Overlay
1: Buildings
2: Athletic Surfaces
3: Bicycle Parking
4: Parking
5: Streets
6: Walks
7: Walk Underpasses
8: Water Features
9: Point Files (Call boxes, bus stops, stairs, public entrances)