Space4Blinds

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lEF6rJou-XIzD1rl1T3LnFxWS2wO45O5-4sBZrkQ-00/edit?usp=sharing

https://youtu.be/2y13jgAntSc

Blindness is a type of sensory deficiency and, therefore, its most central characteristic is the lack or impairment of one of the sensory channels for acquiring information, in this case, the visual. This obviously has consequences for development and learning, making it necessary to design education systems that transmit, by alternative means, information that cannot be obtained through the eyes.

The most important sensory system that the blind person has to know the world is the haptic system or active touch. Many of the peculiarities of the cognitive development of blind people can be explained in relation to the characteristics of capturing and processing information through touch.

Whereas in the first, tactile information is received unintentionally or passively (such as the sensation that clothing or heat produces on our skin), in active touch, information is intentionally sought by the individual who touches it. Thus, in active touch, not only skin receptors and underlying tissues are involved (as in passive touch), but also the excitation corresponding to muscle and tendon receptors, so that the haptic perceptual system captures motor articulatory and balance information

A much greater effort has gone into studying the cognitive development of sightless children aged between 6 and 12 years. The works carried out, based on the Piagetian theory, tried to verify the statements that, according to this theory, are made about the role of action and language in cognitive development.

From research on the importance of touch for blind people, it was thought about how such people could observe, know and know what the planets, galaxies, stars, etc. are like.

We had the idea to make use of innovative technology to transform education in astronomy, transforming NASA images of planets, stars, galaxies into tactile 3D images for people who cannot explore the celestial wonders.

Using the Hubble Images Become 3D Tactile Experience for the Blind project by astronomers Carol Christian and Antonella Note from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore [1] , we developed the dynamics of the game will be through touch when children can find a base that each planet or galaxy belongs, those who see and those who do not see will be in the same session, making the use of blindfold for the same sensation as the non-seers and as every game has rules this would be no different.

The printed objects from the 3D printer built in order with their bases with names written in Braille and in Latin American alphabet and after a certain period of time it was possible to groped the objects, they would be removed from the initial order and the mandatory players in order used the sense sensorial touch, thus being a game that brings the playful challenge of guessing, understanding the planets and braille knowledge, being a type of game for children to play with their parents, friends or even at school

For the production of tactile objects, topographic maps in TIFF and GeoTIFF, contained in NASA and partner sites[2 - 6], were used, essential for the feasibility of this project. With these maps, we import that downloaded map and apply in Flashprint software meshing with a sphere (at beginning of project, we had used coded mathematical models - developed with MatLab [7] and R [8] - where the surface was applied to a generic sphere, and exported to STL, a format for 3D printing).

The table support for the planets were modeled at an online 3D application, Tinkercad [9]. The tactile plates - with representation of space - were made with the slicing tools of the 3D printers.

Two 3D printers were used. A Creality Ender-3 [10], with Cura slicing software [11] and a Flashforge Creator Pro, using Flashprint [12]. The filament used was PLA (also known as poly(lactic acid) or polylactide) as it is biodegradable and therefore ecologically correct.

For the production of tactile objects, topographic maps, obtained from NASA and its partner websites [2- 6] were used. These files were fundamental for the viability of this project.

The amount of information found is really inspiring. They even allow more advanced studies with new tactile objects for the target audience.

An unforgettable experience. Our first hackathon with the largest scientific institution in the world will be imprinted on my life. I found an impressive database on various topics at NASA and - even better - free and universal access.

It was the inspiration to popularize astronomy and science. Therefore, it was time to also provide accessibility of content and knowledge to society, and not just mobility. We are all very proud of the delivery, as we are guaranteeing everyone equal access to scientific knowledge about astronomy.

As a professional and maker, I would like to use my skills in a social inclusion project, in our challenge to the blind.

Some setbacks occurred, such as failures in 3D prints due to electrical problems and a big challenge: the long time for prints. For example, printing the model of planet Earth took 19 hours.

In addition to the team, I would like to thank Msc Marcos Aurelio Santos da Silva, for helping us with the mathematical models.

[1] Karl Hille.Hubble Images Become Tactile 3-D Experience for the Blind Aug 7, 2017. https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-images-become-tactile-3-d-experience-for-the-blind

[2] Imagery by Jesse Allen, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) produced by the British Oceanographic Data Centre. https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/images/73934/topography

[3] Imagery by Jesse Allen, NASA's Earth Observatory, using data from the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) produced by the British Oceanographic Data Centre https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/images/73963/bathymetry

[4] Mars: https://planetarymaps.usgs.gov/mosaic/Mars_MGS_MOLA_DEM_mosaic_global_463m.tif

[5] NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute,Cassini's Best Maps of Jupiter (Cylindrical Map)

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/cassinis-best-maps-of-jupiter-cylindrical-map

[6] Ernie Wright (USRA) & Noah Petro (NASA/GSFC),CGI Moon Kit. NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4720[7] Mathlab: https://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab.html

[8] R Project: https://www.r-project.org/

[9] Tinkercad (3D Modeler): www.tinkercad.com

[10] Creality Ender3: https://www.creality.com/en/goods-detail/ender-3-3d-printer

[11] Cura 3D (Slicing): https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura

[12] Flashprint (Slicing): https://www.flashforge.com.br/flashprint

[13] Flashforge Creator Pro: https://www.flashforge.com/product-detail/flashforge-creator-pro-3d-printer

[14] "Touch the Sun" is published by the Joseph Henry Press, trade imprint of the National Academies Press (publisher for the National Academy of Sciences).

#astronomy #blindness #blind #education #kids #3dprinting #tinkercad #cura #creality #flashforge

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.