Accessible Mathematics: Representation of Functions Through Sound and Touch

This paper presents a new tool to help people with visual impairments learn mathematical functions through the extensive use of sounds and touch. STEM subjects like mathematics are difficult for this kind of user, since concepts like lines or curves heavily depend on visual content to convey essenti...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inIEEE access Vol. 12; pp. 121552 - 121569
Main Authors Gatto, Salvatore, Gaggi, Ombretta, Grosset, Luca, Fovino, Lucrezia Guiotto Nai
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 2024
Subjects
Accessibility
android
Androids
cross-platform
Education
functions
haptic feedback
Haptic interfaces
iOS
iPad
lines
Mathematics
Music
musical notes
Operating systems
parabola
Sonification
sound
unity
Visual impairment
visual impairments
Visualization
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN2169-3536
2169-3536
DOI10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3448509

Cover

More Information
Summary:This paper presents a new tool to help people with visual impairments learn mathematical functions through the extensive use of sounds and touch. STEM subjects like mathematics are difficult for this kind of user, since concepts like lines or curves heavily depend on visual content to convey essential information. GraficiAccessibili is a mobile app that allows to draw lines and parabolas in the cartesian plane, incorporating sound and haptic feedback to make them perceivable by all users. Mathematical functions are sonified enabling users to discern the position of their points on the quarters of the cartesian plane through sound cues. Furthermore, the application assists users in exploring the cartesian plane through touch giving haptic feedback for curves and axes. In this way, the user can mentally visualize the graphical representation of the function. Tests were conducted with real users to assess the effectiveness of this approach.
ISSN:2169-3536
2169-3536
DOI:10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3448509