[NFB-Science] Star Trek Anniversary Idea Revisited

[John Gardner]

Tina, we already have the ability to do what you propose for 2-d tactile prints, but 3d is far more challenging. Even there, I have seen demos of things that have braille and that can also speak when touched. But it is all prototype needing big funding to turn into commercial reality. Making 3d copies with braille is not a trivial matter. To my knowledge it is  presently possible but only with a lot of hand labor in design.
The real challenge at this time is finding a way to tell reliably when a user wants to hear audio from any particular place on the model. And putting it all together to be affordable. I do not know how far in the future this will happen, but I doubt it will be in my lifetime.
John


-----Original Message-----
From: NFB-Science <nfb-science-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tina Hansen via NFB-Science
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2025 7:24 PM
To: nfb-science at nfbnet.org
Cc: Tina Hansen <th404 at comcast.net>
Subject: [NFB-Science] Star Trek Anniversary Idea Revisited

Last night, I proposed an idea around the upcoming Star Trek anniversary that would explore multi-sensory exploration of a tactile model, interactive access to this kind of model, what good audio description could sound like, and how to mix Braille and audio. The model would use Braille to identify places, and the audio would give context and provide the narration.

 

I also proposed this with James Webb, so I want to bring that back.

 

Can we create something that parents and children could explore in their home? If yes, how can we do that? I know a lot of parents are not trained in audio description. While they can learn, they may not always have time. Can we find ways to create technology that can help these parents and teachers do that, Is there something parents could buy to help teachers record these kinds of descriptions?

 

Is there technology that would allow audio to be embedded into a home-sized 3-d print?

 

These are a bit raw, but I want to explore these questions to really advance the cause of good audio description and give tactile graphics a needed shot in the arm. Thanks.

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