Text-based Tactile Graphics Generation for the Visually Impaired

Abstract

Tactile graphics are a primary medium for blind and low-vision (BLV) individuals to access non-textual information. However, they are difficult to scale or personalize. While recent generative models have revolutionized visual content creation, they are optimized for screen-based visual realism and fail to satisfy the haptic perceptual and physical fabrication constraints required for touch. We present the first integrated generative system that produces fabrication-ready 2.5D tactile graphics directly from natural language prompts, jointly generating global base geometry, fine-grained tactile surface textures, and standard-compliant braille within a unified 3D-printable representation. Our approach introduces fabrication-aware techniques, including template-guided relief generation, a fast diffusion-based text-to-texture module for high-resolution tileable normal maps, and strict base flattening to ensure tactile readability and printability, while supporting both automatic generation and interactive texture control. Extensive evaluations, together with in-person user studies with BLV participants and blindfolded sighted participants using physically 3D-printed outputs, show that participants consistently prefer our results over baselines. By extending generative graphics beyond screens to touchable reliefs, our work broadens access to generative AI for the BLV community and beyond.