New tool allows blind to read maps
From: Wired News, September 25, 2002

Students in a software engineering class at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill--with help from the professor--have developed a tool that
blind and visually impaired people can use to read maps. The Blind Audio
Tactile Mapping System (BATS) uses a trackball to move a cursor around on a
map. As the cursor passes over different parts of the map, the system plays
audio information so the user can "read" the map. For example, names of
places on the map are pronounced by a voice synthesizer. When the cursor goes
over water, the user hears the sound of crashing waves; over land, the user
hears horses galloping. The professor teaching the class in which the tool
was developed said it could become an open-source application, and it can be
downloaded now from the project's site.

http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/assist/bats/
http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54916,00.html