[TAGS] James Webb Telescope and Multi-sensory Access

[Tina Hansen]

This list has been a bit dead lately, so I thought I'd put out a question.

 

Many of us recall when the James Webb Telescope launched and began releasing
its images. We then learned about the incredible descriptions of these
images.

 

This, and the article about image poverty in this month's Braille Monitor,
got me wondering. Can we find creative ways to make available this content
in a way that combines tactile and audio output?

 

I may be a bit nuts here, but please hear me out.

 

Imagine that you have a way to touch the image, but also have a narrator
guiding you through it. What if you had a tactile image of the Southern Ring
Nebula done on a 3-d printer, and the ;print was placed on a sturdy surface
with touch sensors inside. The touch areas would be linked to parts of the
description narrated by a capable voice talent. There would be a place on
the surface to get an overview, but the touch areas would also invite you to
really play with the image and get a feel for it.

 

Has anyone tried anything like this? I'm not a programmer, but what if there
was a way to create 3-d prints of these images with touch sensors to include
audio? What other ways can I do this, even if I don't have a 3-d printer?
I've lost track of what's out there, and I want to both learn what tools are
out there and find a way to create tactile images, even if I'm the only one
looking at them. I'm interested in low-tech or high-tech possibilities for
the tactile, but I'd rather use voice talents for the audio, since I get
enough of JAWS or Voiceover that I need a bit of a break. Any ideas? Thanks.

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