Enriching the inclusivity of geophysical data communication using tactile resources

There is an increasing demand on the geoscience community for effective dissemination of data and inferences, equitably engaging a wide audience with communication resources. Geophysical surveys are widely applied to image subsurface structures, in disciplines spanning archaeological mapping, delineating environmental and engineering risk, and resource assessment. Many of these disciplines are of great interest to public stakeholders, whether they inspire curiosity, inform local planning decisions or extend to government policy.  

As informative as geophysical images can be, they are almost exclusively presented in visual formats. Our project explores how geoscience engagement can be enriched for users with a visual impairment and/or neurodiverse condition, by converting geophysical images into tactile surfaces. Working with a local heritage agency (Barnsley Museums, UK), our initial prototypes are tactile versions of geophysical data acquired over buried industrial archaeology at the Yorkshire village of Elsecar. Through a series of co-creative interviews, we are appreciating the requirements of visually-impaired users and progressively refining the design of the tactile models – while ensuring that production remains practical (i.e., cost effective, durable product). A key consideration is the amount of detail in a dataset that can be appreciated by touch alone, requiring a balance to be struck between offering the full complexity of the geophysical dataset versus presenting a simplified interpretation. Other issues to consider include ensuring sufficient relief such that features can be discerned (workshops suggest 4 mm is both effective for a user, and practical from a manufacturing standpoint), and how to convey distance and orientation.  

Three fabrication materials have been tested to date: plywood, swell paper and acrylic. Although plywood is cheap, it proves to be insufficiently robust and carries a grain that distracts from the features of interest. Swell paper (paper which, when heat-treated, swells to produce a low-relief topography) is also cheap, and may be valuable for large-scale outreach in which the outreach resources can be considered disposable (e.g., newsletters, schools programmes, etc). Acrylic shows the most promise for permanent installations, such as in museum exhibits: while expensive, it is robust and durable, and its translucency means it could be backlit to exaggerate contrast for users with residual sight. 

We envisage presenting tactile models of the archaeological site in Barnsley Museums’ exhibits, but our broader aim is to define a series of design considerations that would allow any geophysical dataset to be effectively reproduced as a tactile surface.