3D technology provides advantages in many aspects of life from time to cost. Making ground breaking changes especially in the medical segment, this technology continues its outputs. As a student’s enterprise in Texas A&M University, a tactile map is 3D printed for the visually impaired.
Texas A&M University mechanical engineering student, Tyler Wooten, designed a 3D-printed tactile map of campus for the visually disabled. The map uses braille and is raised, allowing someone with limited or no vision to feel the map and better orient themselves on campus. Kaitlyn Kellermeyer, a visually disabled senior economics student, helped Wooten by testing the maps as she walked around campus every day. The maps may soon become available to students and visitors who need them.
Kellermeyer, an economics student at Texas A&M, lost eyesight in her left eye as a baby and only recently (in 2014) lost eyesight in her right eye as well, leaving her completely blind. For the past two years, Kelleymeyer has struggled to become accustomed to having no eyesight and has depended on help from her friends to help her get to class and the like. She explains, “I had memories of where everything was relationally. With all the open space on campus, and with the lack of auditory cues, I didn’t realize how hard it would be to get around.”
Kellermeyer has also been a key figure in advocating for new and innovative projects around campus to help the visually impaired, which made her the ideal candidate to work with Wooten on developing his 3D printed tactile maps. Since they’ve teamed up, Kellermeyer has given insight, tested, and provided feedback about how the maps should be designed and feel. According to the visually impaired student, the project has given her more freedom and has made all the difference in helping her to navigate around her university.
Tracey Foreman, assistant director of disability services at Texas A&M, is optimistic about the project. She said, “Having access to a tactile map allows a visually impaired individual to better understand the scale, size and proximity that cannot always be gathered solely by walking around or having something verbally described to the individual.”