Tactile maps (maps for blind and visually impaired people) play an essential role in education and social adaptation of visually challenged people. The tactile cartography rapidly develops along with the development of science and technology, and various new technical means and materials for printing three-dimensional graphics have appeared recently. The need for cartographic materials for the visually impaired is great, and so there is an urgent need for the approved methodology for tactile maps and 3D models creation, which could be used as a standard to provide educational institutions, municipalities, and other organizations working with visually challenged people with tactile cartographic materials. Recommendations on the use of map symbols and design of tactile maps are given in the article. The recommendations are based on the research carried out on the grounds of Novosibirsk Regional Special Library for the Blind and Visually Impaired and devoted to tactile perception of map symbols by various groups of blind and visually impaired users. The technology of making tactile maps is currently based on processing of images in graphic editors regardless of the geodata storage and processing systems, is labor-consuming and imposes high demands on professional skills of cartographers. The use of geoinformation systems will make it possible to automate the process of creating tactile maps in many respects. The authors’ recommendations can be the basis when developing functional requirements to software that ensures GIS options integration with automated preparation of tactile maps and other special cartographic materials for the blind and visually impaired.

Modeling technologies and 3D printing are being introduced into many branches of production, supplementing or displacing traditional methods and provide new results in various fields. Research and development based on the use of three-dimensional printing did not bypass tactile cartography, which is quite expected, given the very essence of tactile perception – the sense of touch of the surface under study. The article discusses the possibility of using 3D printing for the font design of tactile maps intended for people with limited visual function. The author presents the results of a study on the perception of Braille created with a 3D printer. An algorithm developed for converting textual and numerical data from fields in the attribute tables of geographic information system bases into inscriptions of objects executed in Braille was.

The authors consider the current state of the tactile cartographic products manufacturing making the conclusion on the necessity of improving the existing techniques, as well as formalizing and automating the process of designing and further printing such maps. The authors propose a new methodological approach to creating them based on the integration of geoinformation and additive technologies. A technical solution is presented, within the framework of which a way of converting digital maps into three-dimensional models of tactile maps was developed. It has 4 stages, each one, in turn, consists of sequential operations that enable any user of the geographic information system to obtain the tactile map printed on plastic. The algorithm for conversion of digital cartographic data is implemented based on the geographic information system ArcGIS Pro, however, it is universal and can be applied to any geoinformation system that allows developing and installing the additional software modules for working with the mentioned data. Thus, the authors implemented a formalized approach to transforming digital maps into three-dimensional models of tactile ones.