3D Printing Helps Blind People “See” Images In Family Photo Archive

Singapore company Pirate 3D together with the Spanish creative agency Lola launched project Touchable Memories to help people who completely or partially lost their eyesight to “see” photos which capture the important events of their lives. Authors of the project have transformed the images into a 3-D format and printed them out into mini high-reliefs in silicone.

“We realized that most people were not interested in purchasing a 3-D printer for their homes because they didn’t know what use they could give to the technology. We purposefully focused on creating an experience that could only be made possible by 3-D printing,” said project lead of Pirate 3D Fred Bosch.

It is obvious that the technology used with the project isn’t able to be widely spread because it required not only a 3D printer, but also a 3D modeler. However, tactile printouts have already been used in publishing books for blind children.