Maps That You Can Hear and Touch

Sighted people read maps almost every day. Maps help us get off at the right subway station, grasp global affairs, plan museum trips, and remember the new office floorplan. And our use of maps, and sense of what they represent, is based almost entirely on looking at them.

So it's disorienting to think about navigating a new place without a map—let alone without sight, like most of the 285 million people in the world who are visually impaired do everyday. But a group of scientists, architects, and advocates are working toward on new methods of wayfinding for blind people: They're making maps that convey information through touch and sound.