Haptic glyphs (hlyphs) - structured haptic objects for haptic visualization

Haptic devices can be used to visualize information. As well as representing tangible surfaces and forces to enhance virtual training simulators for instance, haptic devices have been used to realize tactile versions of diagrams and visualizations (such as line graphs and bar charts). Such depictions enable blind or partial sighted users to perceive and understand information. However, there are multiple challenges when presenting information tactically: (1) it is difficult to understand a summary of the information, and (2) it is challenging to represent multivariate information through these haptic representations. In this paper we present how hlyphs (haptic versions of the graphical glyph) can be created, describe design guidelines, and detail how they can be used to represent both summaries and multivariate information.