Adaptive level of detail in dynamic, refreshable tactile graphics

We investigate gains in user appreciation and performance when the level of detail of tactile graphics is dynamically altered either at the press of a button or automatically, as a function of exploration speed. This concept was evaluated by asking 9 visually impaired participants to perform hierarchical spatial search tasks in a concert hall illustration. The tasks could be simplified by first searching for a section in a sparse illustration, and then a seat in a detailed illustration. The results show no improvement in task performance but indicate a user preference for explicitly controlling the level of details with the manual toggle.