[@stephengduke]

Thank you @SRv for such a thoughtful response.

My thoughts in regard to mapping are provoked by the issues that you’ve just described. Tactile maps are not cost-effective and typically work better for the late blind as the congenitally blind tend to use egocentric reference frames. BLE is coming, but it poses the same issues as you described. Also, there are new studies stating that the habitual use of GPS negatively impacts spatial memory during self-guided navigation.

The transfer of orientation and mobility knowledge for the blind between virtual and real environments is well established, and I can’t figure out why there aren’t more UI’s that allow for environment exploration from the home. As you alluded to, there is a lack of trust in real-time navigation and many of the projects I have come across seem to be made in vain.

I’m attempting to find research that proves the comparative inefficacy of cross-modal interactions between two-dimensional objects like tablets/smartphones and three-dimensional objects like tactile maps. I’m not finding a lot, and it leaves me wondering if there is a gap in map UI’s that could be valuable.