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Press Here: An Interactive Tactile Book
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VIS-2223 GSD Digital Media: Ambience
2019 Spring
Allen Sayegh
Maoran Sun
Arduino, UX Design
This tactile book with the mobile app is designed for children who are blind or visually impaired to enjoy reading by combining sound, tactile adaptations, and Braille within one interactive product. The product aims at enhancing children’s reading experience with cognitive activity through touch and hearing. This project comprises research, Arduino circuit design, and mobile app design.
This product also aims at helping sighted teachers and parents share the reading experience with their children and keep track of their learning progress. Reading the book becomes a valuable experience between children and adults.
The traditional form of an open book is transformed into card form. This form could provide more space for Arduino components and haptic materials. To provide a more comfortable reading experience for users, the developed prototype changed from sharp corners to rounded ones, and the four sides of the card use soft woven fabric as the material. Each book contains two haptic interactive components. One is the tactile picture in the center, the carefully chosen profile image of the story character; the other is the Braille about the story itself. When the tactile picture is being touched, the sound will be generated from the Arduino inside the book, such as a dog bark. When the Braille is being touched, the corresponding text is read out.
Besides Braille, the enlarged text is also printed for sighted teachers, parents, and children with mild or moderate vision.
Research
Children who are blind or functionally blind might have minimal access and exposure to books because most books are designed for sighted children. However, reading and storytelling could play a vital role in children’s brain and language development. Inspired by some tactile books designed for sighted and visually impaired children, the research focuses on the potential of improving these tactile books. Most of the existing tactile books designed for blind children take into consideration the lack of vision, yet ignoring that sound and touch could be employed when giving children a better reading experience.
Therefore, the main idea of this design is to combine touch and hearing experience by introducing haptic interactions with corresponding sound.
Tactile books with braille Tactile books with no braille 3D-prints braille picture books
Research
Children who are blind or functionally blind might have minimal access and exposure to books because most books are designed for sighted children. However, reading and storytelling could play a vital role in children’s brain and language development. Inspired by some tactile books designed for sighted and visually impaired children, the research focuses on the potential of improving these tactile books. Most of the existing tactile books designed for blind children take into consideration the lack of vision, yet ignoring that sound and touch could be employed when giving children a better reading experience.
Therefore, the main idea of this design is to combine touch and hearing experience by introducing haptic interactions with corresponding sound.
Storyboards
Ideate
Arduino Circuit
Prototype
User Experience
Sharing books is a great experience for teachers and parents to bond with their children. This product not only enables adults and children to sit side by side playing with the interactive part, such as pressing the tactile fabric but also gives adults another way of introducing the story with the help of the audio book. Large prints could help children with mild or moderate vision loss to enjoy the book. Children with little or no sight could learn to read Braille; when touching the Braille, the text would be read out. The sound and spoken words allow children to listen and associate them with the touch experience.
User Interface
The user interface of the mobile app is designed in coherence with the book’s color and style. A simple and convenient library enables adult users to save and manage the books they think fit their children the best. They could also search for books based on children’s age and interest by using the convenient search page. Recording the search history helps users get the content faster. And with a button click, the book information would switch to audio book mode for users to listen and enjoy. The app also allows adults to keep track of children’s learning progress by displaying information from books each child reads to the time spent on every book.
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