Guidelines for designing tactile maps for orientation and mobility in buildings

Abstract

Accessibility for people with disabilities is essential to ensure autonomy and inclusion. Tactile maps play a fundamental role in orientation and mobility, allowing the environment to be read through touch. However, the dispersion of guidelines and the lack of standardization in their design can compromise the efficiency of this type of assistive technology. In this sense, we carried out an Integrative Literature Review to identify guidelines for the design of tactile maps for orientation and mobility in buildings. The databases consulted were the CAPES Theses and Dissertations Catalog, CAPES Periodicals Portal, Web of Science, Scopus and Scielo, resulting in the analysis of 34 documents. The results gathered guidelines on support, location of the map in the building, reading position, map size, scale, symbols and characters, and legend, indicating that standardized elements or more specific and experimentally validated guidelines are necessary to ensure the usability of the maps.