
Tactile Schematics
Summary
A set of standards and best practices for designing tactile schematics for non-visual circuit building, along with a free library available to Blind and Low Vision makers.
The library of designed tactile schematics has been published as a resource in NYU ITP’s Physical Computing curriculum, accessed over 1,800 times, and used in two NYU Blind Arduino workshops.
→ Go to Tactile Schematics Website
Role
Researcher, accessibility designer, 2.5D design and prototype production
Academic Advisors
Industry Advisors
Publication
Motivation
Problem
Schematics are an integral part to learning electronics. They are drawings of the relationships between components in an electronic device and are used to build circuits. While sighted readers rely on schematic images to understand how electronics work, low vision and blind readers rely on circuit descriptions.
The recording below is called a circuit description. It can be read with a screen reader, either through synthesized speech (the example I’ve provided) or a Refreshable Braille Display. Blind and low vision learners rely on them to understand circuits.
Can you draw that circuit from listening to a description? This is the circuit the screen reader was describing.
Obstacle
As you heard from the screen reader recording above, it’s tough to understand a circuit from a description, especially if you’re a beginner. No tactile graphical representation has yet been able to compete with circuit descriptions.
Electronics beginners can benefit from the spatial information schematics provide and learn the relationships of the components through touch.
Objective
Understand how we can make electronics more accessible to people who are Blind or Low Vision.

Related Work
Educational Tools
- Verbal descriptions or interactive simulations for auditory learning
- Braille translations for reading/writing learning
- Blind Arduino workshops for constructivist learning
- Tactile graphics for kinesthetic/tactile learning (the focus of this research)
Educational Resources
- The Blind Arduino Project develops and shares techniques for low vision users to build electronics projects
- The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library hosts Arduino workshops with the Dimensions program, using tactile methods to learn hardware and software
- The Smith Kettlewell Technical File was a publication for Blind or Low Vision electronics enthusiasts and used standardized verbal circuit descriptions instead of diagrams
Persona Development

→ Long description of persona 1

→ Long description of persona 2

→ Long description of persona 3
Experience Map
Timeframe | Homework is assigned | Homework is started | Homework is unfinished | Homework is overdue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Activities | Opens class site and finds the lab is due | Can’t understand the circuit description | Has to keep replaying the circuit description | Gives up and moves on to the remaining content |
Touch Points | Phone/laptop | Phone/laptop | Phone/laptop | Phone/laptop |
Emotion Line | Optimistic | Curious | Frustrated | Hopeless |
Pain Points | Needs to keep up with the demanding course load | Has limited resources for understanding circuits | Circuit descriptions are hard for beginners | Feels like none of the options are for him |
Ideas for Improvement | Add other learning style resources to class site | Link from class lab to resources presented in another format | Schematics are converted to tactile schematics as SVGs | Have resources available ahead of the lab due date |
User Flow






Prototyping
Design Iterations



Production Workflow



Research Method
Recruiting
We recruited 5 Blind and Low Vision participants through our professional network. They represented a range in learning style, finger variables (sensitivity and size), electronics experience, Braille literacy, and visual acuity.
Procedure
We conducted our research through NYU’s Institutional Review Board. We presented participants with tactile versions of The Big 6—or the six schematics crucial to understanding Physical Computing—given informed consent, a series of tasks, asked to identify specific electronics components, and explain the schematic in their own words.

Interview Questions
Introduction
- Tell me about your experience with electronics?
- Tell me about your experience with tactile graphics?
Circuit Description Usability
- Go to this site and have a look at the page.
- I’m going to send a circuit description to your email for you to listen with your screen reader.
- What is title of the schematic?
- Will you find the resistor?
- Can you tell what kind of resistor is depicted?
- Will you tell me many LED’s are shown here?
- Can you see if you can tell where is ground located?
- How would you explain the schematic back to me in your own words?

Tactile Schematics Usability
- What is title of the schematic?
- Will you find the resistor?
- Can you tell what kind of resistor is depicted?
- Will you tell me many LED’s are shown here?
- Can you see if you can tell where is ground located?
- How would you explain the schematic back to me in your own words?
Follow-up Questions
- Which is more clear to you? Which do you prefer, the circuit descriptions or the tactile schematics?
- How do you feel about the material you’re seeing here?
- What are your thoughts about the tactile graphics?
- Do you have any suggestions for the design of these graphics?
- Do you see any other uses in your life for tactile graphics?
Conclusion
There is no universal solution
We still need to do more research to determine if these are as effective as circuit descriptions and evaluate combining the two modalities.
Tactile graphic evaluation changes with each use case
How do we evaluate tactile graphic readability given the variability of usage? Because their effectiveness isn’t universal, I would always have to tailor them to the audience I’m designing them for. For example, one user might prefer Braille, one might prefer high contrast ratio text.
We need more non-visual circuit building workflows
Can tactile schematics go beyond understanding how a circuit works to actually hooking one up? This is the beginning stage of much larger scope of work to see if we can develop a non-visual workflow for building circuits.
Tactile Schematics for ITP’s Physical Computing Course

Style Guide
