Space4Blinds

Space4Blinds intends to be an educational and playful game, so that children - as well as adults - have the opportunity to learn more about space and its components

Even for those who are not experts in astronomy, the universe enchants and intrigues. But a part of society is on the sidelines of knowing the space and its wonders: people with visual impairments.

Space4Blinds aims to be an educational and fun game, so that children — as well as adults — have the opportunity to learn more about space and its components. They will be tactile toys that will represent the elements of the universe, such as planets, natural satellites, stars, with the help of 3D printed objects and descriptions in Braille.
This experience will allow visually impaired people to enjoy, like us, the magic of the Universe.

From research on the importance of touch for the blind, it was thought about how these people could observe, know and know what the Universe and its elements would be like. We use technology to innovate and transform the teaching of astronomy, transforming real images obtained from public databases of the American Space Agency, NASA, of planets, stars, galaxies into tactile 3D objects for those who cannot explore celestial wonders.

Usando imagens do Hubble, como as astrônomas Carol Christian e Antonella Note do Space Telescope Science Institute em Baltimore, desenvolvemos a dinâmica do jogo. Através do toque, o filho jogador deve identificar qual estrela está em suas mãos e procurar - também pelo toque - sua respectiva base, usando leitura em braile. Jovens com visão normal também podem participar do jogo, desde que usem uma venda.

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

Without the ability to capture visual stimuli, an individual is completely devoid of any form of visual perception, termed "blind". Although some blind people can detect the emergence of stimuli that are visible to others, these same events do not trigger a reaction in their brain as a normal observer does.
It was Ann Landers (reference) who defined vision as: "What you can perceive without being able to speak."
Obviously this will have an impact on development and learning, so it is necessary to provide teaching systems that convey information that cannot be obtained through visualization by alternative methods. The visually impaired person must understand that the most important sensory system in the world is the tactile or active touch system. Many characteristics of the cognitive development of these people can be explained by the characteristics of acquisition and processing of information by touch.
Our project was designed to teach these people how to teach astronomy through touch, as they have a more refined touch.

It was Ann Landers (reference) who defined vision as: "What you can perceive without being able to speak." Obviously, this has an impact on development and learning, so it is necessary to provide teaching systems that convey information that cannot be obtained through visualization by alternative methods.

The visually impaired person must understand that the most important sensory system in the world is the tactile or active touch system. Many characteristics of the cognitive development of these people can be explained by the characteristics of acquisition and processing of information by touch.
Our project was designed to teach these people to teach astronomy through touch, as they have a more refined touch.

Due to the state of the pandemic, it was not possible to do research on possible users, we have plans to go to schools and NGOs for people with visual impairments in our community to be able to show our project to our target audience. I did a volunteer project at the school because there was a visually impaired student and I was in charge of helping him with his studies. The design was made by our own team.

We have finished researching the content on the target audience, we have already 3D printed some prototypes and are looking for partnerships with the target audience community.

For the production of tactile objects, topographical maps in TIFF and GeoTIFF were used, contained in the NASA website and partner sites, essential for the feasibility of this project.

With these maps, we used coded mathematical models — developed with MatLab and R — where the surface was applied to a generic sphere, and exported to STL, a format for 3D printing. The desktop stand for the planets was modeled in an “online” 3D application, Tinkercad. The tactile plates - with representation of space - were made with the slicing tools of 3D printers. Image 1 presents a model of the planets made in the 'software' and image 2ra , an example of an object that teaches the scale between the planets of the solar system.

Two 3D printers were used. A Creality Ender-3 , with Cura slicing software and a Flashforge Creator Pro, using Flashprint. The filament used was PLA (also known as poly (lactic acid) or polylactide) because it is biodegradable, therefore, ecologically correct. Below in image 3 the planet earth and the moon that were printed in 3D printers. And finally, in image 4 the Milky Way

We intend to go to schools, foundations and related NGOs and be made available in science museums and planetariums

- Dar palestras em escolas 

- Visitar ONGs e apresentar no projeto 

- Desenvolver o projeto em escala internacional

Estamos usando competições e feira de ciências sendo finalistas no supracitado

Precisamos de parcerias para poder financiar o projeto e fazer a produção em escala industrial.

One of the team's components is a high school student girl who took part in the research and data searches being finalists in competitions and science fair renowned in the country such as the science and engineering bradileira fair.

Our project is made for people with disabilities to have the experience that will allow people with visual impairments to enjoy, like us, the magic of the Universe. The protagonists of the game are, on the one hand, the planets that orbit Newton and Kepler, on the other, the natural satellites that revolve around the Earth. Space4Blinds intends to represent all celestial bodies in our solar system, as well as space objects, such as natural and artificial satellites, space stations, among others.