Toccare con mano. Dalla comunicazione ottica alla comunicazione aptica

Touching is like a bridge between our body and the world around us. Touching gives us informations about size, shape and volume, but also about texture, tem- perature, vibrations, hardness/softness.
Communicating with tactile maps and three-dimensional models by applying the concept of equality of Design for All helps to increase the number of users. We can address the blind, the many visually impaired who are losing the vision of the world, but also the able-bodied, who can benefit from some of these tools. Anyone, touching a tactile map or model, must consider that the contents (land- scape/architecture) are “mediated” representations: volumes are simplified, li- nes, embossed and textured areas become symbols, however explained by ap- propriate keymaps.
The designer must sensitively filter the real data, guaranteeing an easy under- standing. We present the state of the art, the potential of tactile representation and some possible applications.