Leona Holloway, Research Assistant at the Monash University

Jumping off the page

- 3D printing for tactile representation of graphics

3D printing offers a new but relatively unexplored medium for presenting graphics to people who are blind or vision impaired. In this session Leona will present the result of a series of exploratory studies that was made at the Monash University.

These studies included:

• The creation of a wide variety of 3D models and corresponding tactile graphics of maps, buildings, charts and other learning objects;
• Trial and development of technologies for the addition of descriptive audio labels on 3D printed objects;
• Working with a school for vision impaired children to identify suitable uses for 3D printing within the curriculum.

She will tell you what innovations worked, what didn’t, and when 3D prints are preferable to standard tactile graphics. The study result will be presented, including what blind and vision impaired school students thought about 3D printed objects. You will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing, based on user perspectives and Leona will suggest objects and topics for 3D printing, with hand-on samples.