3D Educational Material
Web application for creating accessible learning materials
Phase 2
Type of project: Prototype
Disability concerned: Visual disability
Topics: Training, Leisure
Status: Completed
Graphics taken from existing educational material have been transformed by image processing into a representation of the edges that can be converted into a printable 3D file. The aim of this project is to develop a modern web application bringing together these representations.
Learning is a process guided by eyesight. Concrete visualization allows one to picture things that are difficult to convey verbally. Illustrations and pictures in textbooks help to better understand facts. While children and young people without visual impairments can hardly escape the flood of images that convey representations of things that are distant and difficult to understand, visually impaired, deaf-blind and blind learners lack accessible teaching materials.
A preliminary project has developed an approach to simplify the creation of accessible learning materials through 3D printing.
Graphics from existing educational material are transformed by image processing into an edge representation that can be converted into a 3D printable file. The use of the technology should thus be made easier and more accessible to teachers without technical expertise. This functionality was only accessible via a command line application. This project is based on these results, with the objective of developing a modern web application. This application should offer a modern and user-friendly interface that helps in the creation of print files.
The user interface of the application was designed in collaboration with teachers and improved in an iterative way. The implementation was made with current web technologies (Django, Angular, Material Design) and is available on a web server. It is thus possible to load an image into the application, configure the image processing algorithm with visual feedback and download the printable file. In addition, other 3D prints were created and tested in an exploratory manner. It was found that the user interface was easy to use and that the prints created were well usable.
