title: Are We Ready to Build a System for Assisting Blind People in Tactile Exploration of Bas-Reliefs?
abstract: Nowadays, the creation of methodologies and tools for facilitating the 3D reproduction of artworks and, contextually, to make their exploration possible and more meaningful for blind users is becoming increasingly relevant in society. Accordingly, the creation of integrated systems including both tactile media (e.g., bas-reliefs) and interfaces capable of providing the users with an experience cognitively comparable to the one originally envisioned by the artist, may be considered the next step for enhancing artworks exploration. In light of this, the present work provides a description of a first-attempt system designed to aid blind people (BP) in the tactile exploration of bas-reliefs. In detail, consistent hardware layout, comprising a hand-tracking system based on Kinect(®) sensor and an audio device, together with a number of methodologies, algorithms and information related to physical design are proposed. Moreover, according to experimental test on the developed system related to the device position, some design alternatives are suggested so as to discuss pros and cons.
authors: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence 50139, Italy.
authors: Francesco
authors: F
authors: Buonamici
authors: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence 50139, Italy. monica.carfagni@unifi.it.
authors: Monica
authors: M
authors: Carfagni
authors: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence 50139, Italy. rocco.furferi@unifi.it.
authors: Rocco
authors: R
authors: Furferi
authors: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence 50139, Italy. lapo.governi@unifi.it.
authors: Lapo
authors: L
authors: Governi
authors: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence 50139, Italy. yary.volpe@unifi.it.
authors: Yary
authors: Y
authors: Volpe
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001154:Art; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities
keywords: 3D reconstruction; Kinect sensor; blind people; hand-tracking system