3D maps could help people with visual impairments navigate their world

Contact: Erin Flynn
December 10, 2019
A student holds a 3D map prototype with a larger scale project on the computer screen in the background.
Leah Barton, a manager technician in the virtual reality lab, holds an early prototype of a 3D-printed map of the fourth floor of the College of Health and Human Services, where the Department of Blindness and Low Vision studies is located.

KALAMAZOO, Mich鈥斺淥h my goodness, it鈥檚 beautiful! I cannot believe it came out so well. Wow!鈥 gushes Dr. Dawn Anderson.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or in this case, the hand.

Anderson, an assistant professor of blindness and low vision studies, is holding a 3D printed map of the fourth floor of 色色啦鈥檚 College of Health and Human Services.

The white plastic model may not look like much. There are no bells and whistles; no colors or labels. But this could be a map to a new world for students with visual impairments and their future teachers.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen 3D maps in the past that were beautifully designed, but that were missing the function for people who are blind and visually impaired,鈥 says Anderson.

A student holds a 3D model of all four floors of the College of Health and Human Services building.
Abby Tongue researched the feasibility of completing 3D-printed maps of the CHHS building.

Graduate assistant Abby Tongue got the ball rolling to turn Anderson鈥檚 vision of a functional tactile map into a reality, researching the feasibility and enlisting the help of 色色啦鈥檚 virtual development studio.

鈥淲e were just getting our studio off the ground and were looking for interesting projects that used 3D media,鈥 says Kevin Abbott, interactive media specialist in the Office of Information Technology. 鈥淭his project ended up being a great fit, so we took it on.鈥

Sales student Leah Barton, a manager and technician in the virtual reality lab, worked with Tongue on designs for models of the College of Health and Human Services and a detailed map of the fourth floor of the college, where the Department of Blindness and Low Vision studies is located.

鈥淭hrough trial and error, we decided just using the hallways would be the best approach for the smaller model, and we left the detail to the fourth-floor larger model,鈥 says Barton. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want the features to be too sharp or too jumbled, because you wouldn鈥檛 be able to get a clear reading of anything.鈥

After several attempts, the team crafted models sturdy enough to withstand heavy use and detailed enough to be functional.

鈥淚鈥檝e shown this to a lot of my friends who are blind. One of them said, 鈥業 didn鈥檛 realize the hallway was bent. I wondered why I kept drifting to the right and my cane kept hitting that side of the hallway!鈥 Another friend didn鈥檛 realize they鈥檇 been passing an elevator on their way to class every day,鈥 says Tongue, who is studying teaching students with vision impairments as well as orientation and mobility for children.

鈥淲e take information like that for granted, but for him it was empowering because now he can take that elevator if he wants.鈥

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

[caption align="left"]
A person's hands navigate a 3D map.
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Both 3D-printed models will be kept in the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies so that students can use them for reference. They鈥檒l also be utilized as teaching tools.

鈥淲e teach a class that all orientation and mobility specialists go through where they are under a blindfold two to three hours a day and have to learn indoor and outdoor skills,鈥 says Anderson. 鈥淔or basic indoor travel, this will help them understand how the building is put together and how to plan a route from point 鈥楢鈥 to point 鈥楤鈥 and then effectively and efficiently get there.鈥

Teachers, Anderson says, can also learn from these 3D models.

[caption align="right"]
A close-up picuture of a 3D model.
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鈥淲e have to teach people who can鈥檛 see the environment how to understand it,鈥 says Anderson. 鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at understanding the concept of four stories. If you can鈥檛 see the building and recognize how large it is, if you can鈥檛 conceive of the fact that a staircase on the first floor is in the same place as a staircase on the second floor, just one story above; that concept can be very difficult to learn.鈥

Anderson and Tongue presented their research on 3D printing and concept development for students with vision impairments at the annual Michigan Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. The presentation gave teachers from across the state a chance to interact with the models and get an idea of how  they could work.

A BROADER VISION

The successful development of these maps could lead to bigger things at 色色啦.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at possibly doing a model of the entire campus so that our students in disability services could share it with anybody who鈥檚 visually impaired on campus,鈥 Anderson says. 鈥淚t could include the topography of campus and be used by people with mobility issues as well.鈥

While it would be a large undertaking, Abbott says a map like that isn鈥檛 out of the realm of possibility.

鈥淎 lot of data exists already that can be turned into 3D. There鈥檚 almost certainly opportunity to take advantage of stuff that鈥檚 already there and use it creatively,鈥 Abbott says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of what students who work with me learn. They determine what the goals are and how we use our tools to solve real-world problems."

A student sits at a computer desk.
Barton hopes this experience will help her reach her goal of starting a career in 3D design.

Barton, who recently graduated April 27, is drawing on this experience as she pursues job opportunities. Her ultimate goal is to start a career in
3D design.

鈥淭he companies that have shown interest in me so far have really loved that I have a business background because I understand the process from both the creative and administration side,鈥 says Barton.

But there鈥檚 more to this project than bolstering her resume.

鈥淭he biggest joy that I鈥檝e gotten out of this project is knowing it will be helpful to other students. As a student myself, I know that going to college is already hard; I can鈥檛 even wrap my head around trying to do it with blindness or low vision,鈥 Barton says. 鈥淪o knowing that I contributed even a little bit to helping them navigate their experience in an easier and better way, that鈥檚 all I want from it.鈥

VIRTUAL IMPACT EXPANDING

The VR development studio was created after Abbott received a transformational grant from the University.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a need on campus. We鈥檙e seeing stuff that鈥檚 coming out of the woodwork as more and more of these 3D-based digital tools are being used,鈥 says Abbott. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great experience for the students working on these projects, because they get to tackle essentially real-world problems.鈥

Abbott鈥檚 team is collaborating with 色色啦鈥檚 Bronson School of Nursing on a simulation for students as well as an application for the theatre department that allows students to interact with famous architecture. He鈥檚 also been contacted about using 3D printing to make bones for anthropology students to study.

Abbott hopes to continue to build and develop the virtual reality programs
on campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 taking off in so many industries. With professions evolving, there鈥檚 a ton of need,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f we can have the opportunity for students to not only graduate with expertise in their major but also have some idea to start thinking about VR development, it will be really beneficial both to them and their employers.鈥