EXPERIENCE WITH TACTILE MAPS: TOWARDS A STANDARDIZATION OF TACTILE SYMBOLS
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Coll, A.; 2Ribeiro do Carmo, W.
1UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLÓGICA METROPOLITANA Email: acollescanilla@gmail.com
2UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO Email: walcarmo@usp.br
Abstract
One of the greatest and most important demands made in current markets is for providing proven quality in products, especially in products of a cartographic nature, as these need to portray and perfectly communicate the reality of a geographic space. In this, the use of various standards fulfils a fundamental role. Cartography and, within that discipline, Tactile Cartography, may not remain aside from that objective. The application of standards to a cartographic product guides us towards a clear and functional use of geographic data. The project “Proposal for the standardization of tactile symbology for Latin America: application to cartography for tourism (2014-2016)”, recognised and supported by the Pan American Institute for Geography and History (PAIGH), is intended for placing at the service of the community its work in the field of tactile cartographic symbols that have been under development for more than two decades by an interdisciplinary team from Argentina, Brazil and Peru, led by Chile. It is aimed at the use of tactile symbology for all those who need to create cartography. The project is at the level of Latin America and the world, achieving the interoperability of information and the transfer of geographic data. In the experience built up by the program of the Tactile Cartography Centre (CECAT), it has been discovered that there is no shared symbology for making tactile cartography either at Latin American nor at world levels. This new research project proposes a solution through the intention of standardizing tactile symbology for the region, enabling the population of people with varying physical capabilities to use a common cartographic language, making easier their access to large and small-scale geographic information about both nearby and more distant surroundings. It is thought that the application of these procedures to the standardization of symbols for the cartography used in tourism will serve as models for subsequently making progress in applications of a more general nature and, finally, towards an interoperability in the information and a better transfer of the geographic data.
Keywords
Tactile maps; standardization of symbols; education