Automatic visual to tactile translation. I. Human factors, access methods and image manipulation

This is the first part of a two-part paper that motivates and evaluates a method for the automatic conversion of images from visual to tactile form. In this part, a broad-ranging background is provided in the areas of human factors, including the human sensory system, tactual perception and blindness, access technology for tactile graphics production, and image processing techniques and their appropriateness to tactile image creation. In Part II, this background is applied in the development of the TACTile Image Creation System (TACTICS), a prototype for an automatic visual-to-tactile translator. The results of an experimental evaluation are then presented and discussed, and possible future work in this area is outlined.