Tangible Reels

The Tangible Reels are a novel type of tangible objects that enable visually impaired users to construct and explore tangible maps and diagrams.

Collaborators and/or co-authors: Marcos Serrano, Bernard Oriola, Marc Macé, Christophe Jouffrais.

Publications / videos

PDF - CHI’16
Short video
Long video

In short

Tangible Reels is a tabletop TUI that enables visually impaired users to independently reconstruct tangible maps and diagrams of varying complexities. Its design was inspired by current practices and relies on an innovative type of tangible objects called Tangible Reels, which make digital points and lines tangible.

We designed two types of Tangible Reels: the Weights (composed of a cylinder filled with lead) and the Sucker Pads. A retractable reel is attached to the Weights or the Sucker Pads to enable the user to construct lines of varying lengths.

The user is guided to place the Tangible Reels in their right place by audio instructions. Once the map or diagram is built, they can explore it using a pointing gesture.

We conducted two user studies with visually impaired participants to assess the stability of the Tangible Reels (Study 1) and the overall usability of the interface (Study 2).