국토지리학회지 ISSN:1225-3766(Print) THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL OF KOREA

Braille signs are compulsorily installed at the entrance of public facilities and important buildings as an aid for the visually impaired to recognize and navigate the space. Fixed tactile maps, such as Braille signs, have the disadvantage that they cannot be moved and can only be installed on the first floor, and they are costly and time-consuming to install. In particular, most of them are made of steel, and additional costs are incurred when changing the information on the tactile map. In particular, there are many difficulties in using them due to regulations on the size and height. In this study, we aimed to compensate for these problems by providing portable indoor tactile maps along with fixed tactile maps. To this end, this study investigated and analyzed domestic and foreign production cases of portable tactile maps, and produced portable tactile maps for indoor use using 3D printers, thermal transfer printers, and braille printers. The produced portable tactile maps were evaluated for usability by experts and visually impaired people to derive improvements. The results of the usability evaluation showed that tactile maps produced by 3D printers were the most preferred, followed by thermal printers and braille printers.