Patterns of blind users' hand movements: The case of typographic signals of documents rendered by eight-dot and six-dot braille code

Abstract

The main focus of the present study lies on patterns and characteristics of hand movements when participants with blindness receive typographic meta-data (bold and italic) by touch through a braille display. Patterns and characteristics were investigated by the use of six-dot braille and eight-dot braille code in conjunction with types of reading errors. The results depicted that the participants' reading errors (phonological type) were similar in both braille codes. In addition, the participants performed more fluid hand movements when they used the six-dot braille code, whereas they spent less time when they were reading through eight-dot braille. The focus of the discussion was placed on the importance of the development of a suitable design of tactile rendition of typographic signals through six or eight-dot braille code in favor of better perception and comprehension. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.