ProM Facility introduces labels to attach to objects to facilitate use by blind and visually impaired people.
The Polo Meccatronica prototyping center’s project continues. This project is dedicated to people with visual impairments and aimed at improving the accessibility of public and private spaces. On January 4th, to mark World Braille Day, ProM Facility unveiled a new set of soft polyurethane labels and rigid nylon signs overwritten in Braille. The new labels can be glued to objects in the home or in commercial establishments to make them readily usable by blind and visually impaired people.
Accessible and free software
The program devised by Matteo Perini, engineer of the facility in Rovereto and inventor of the software, independently generates the 3D files needed for printing the labels and signs in Braille. The tests performed with the Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) systems and stereolithography (SLA) have confirmed the quality of the definition and legibility of the printed texts.
To promote the creation of informative materials and consequently the widespread use of the program, ProM Facility has decided to upload the open-source software to the Web to make it accessible and free of charge to designers who wish to produce 3D prints in Braille.
Greater accessibility at home and in commercial establishments
To mark World Braille Day, ProM Facility presented a further innovative step in the program: the software design and subsequent printing of a set of soft polyurethane labels and rigid nylon signs overwritten in Braille, to be glued to everyday objects, such as oil bottles or shampoo bottle. The labels are practical and washable, and in addition to use in the home, they can also be used to increase the accessibility to blind and visually impaired people of commercial areas.