You might observe little domes or rounded, raised bars installed on the surface of the ground when crossing any street or boarding a train. Tactile paving is something that is felt underfoot or with a cane.

They are also known as detectable warning plates or ground surface indicators. Attention patterns are truncated dome rows arranged in a certain grid pattern are a typical sort of noticeable plate to warn. Some kind of guiding pattern, sometimes known as a corduroy pattern, is a common pattern that uses rounded narrow bars rows, or lines as markers.

The company OLEJÁR, was established in the year 2005 as a fiber-glass product manufacturer. Since 2008 it has started manufacturing various tactile systems and also they are installing them at various places.

What is tactile paving?

Tactile paving is the term used for these patterns. The paving was created with the intention of alerting visually challenged pedestrians.

This could be anything from a transition from the sidewalk to the road to a warning to commuters to notice their step when approaching any stairs. To enhance visual contrast, the patterns are frequently a different color rather than the sidewalk.

Tactile paving's origin

Seiichi Miyake created tactile paving for the first time in 1967 in Japan. It was also called Tenji bricks at the time. The pacing swiftly spread throughout Japan, and Japan National Railways eventually adopted it. In the 1990s, the United States adopted tactile paving as well.

Modern paving uses materials e.g. concrete, stainless steel, and ceramic, rather than the pre-cast concrete models utilized in the original design. The plates will be quite durable for several years as a result of this.

Different types of patterns for tactile paving

Tactile pavement, like Braille, a certain form of language written in which raised dots can be felt with the fingertips, sends a message about the environment through touch. Such tactile paving is used to transmit caution and warning, as well as to define safe zones.

It gives people with vision impairment a practical means to recognize their surroundings and navigate them on their own.

1-Attention pattern

A succession of truncated domes is referred to as an attention pattern. Grid and offset patterns are the two forms of attention patterns. The distinction is in the arrangement of the truncated dome rows.

2-Grid pattern

Truncated domes are evenly arranged in straight rows that create a square grid, on detectable warning plates having grid pattern. This can be the most prevalent design found on city sidewalks in the form of visible warning plates.

They are commonly used to indicate a dropped curb of a sidewalk at the end before it becomes a motor road.

3-Offset pattern

Truncated domes are arranged in rows with every other row staggered in an offset manner. Although this design appears to be comparable to the pattern of the grid at first glance, offset patterns express a different danger.

They alert pedestrians of big holes ahead, reducing the chance of a person going through. At train platforms, offset patterns are commonly employed. The truncated domes row should run parallel to the platform's end and be set back about 20 inches from the platform's edge.