This research reports on the findings of a study carried out through a multidisciplinary partnership comprising the following higher education and cultural and community organisations: School of Engineering at Lancaster University, Lancaster City Museums and Galloways, a sight-loss charity. An overarching aim of the Touch & See project was to increase accessibility of 2D historical artefacts to those with sight impairment, with the use of additive manufacturing (AM). There are significant engagement barriers in museums presented to people with sight impairment, which the project sought to understand. It then aimed to utilise technology, incorporating the use of AM to help address some of those barriers, aiming to increase accessibility to historic artefacts.
To help design a system that could be implemented in small and medium-sized museums elsewhere, several factors had to be considered to offer scale-up. This includes user-engagement, effectiveness of tactile parts, ease-of-operation (for curator, as a non-expert AM user) and cost. This system utilises 2D photographs and a low-cost FDM desktop machine to produce lithophanes, as 3D relief versions of images, such as paintings or water-colours. This provides the user with a kinaesthetic sensory engagement which hitherto has been difficult to achieve in museum environments. Furthermore, by integrating the lithophanes with backlighting and audio systems, one may develop a multi-sensory experience which appeals to those who are both fully and partially blind. This research reports on the development of the system used to obtain and print selected 2D artefacts including consideration given to geometry, depth, finish, contrast, print orientation and size.
The use of AM in this research allows the resulting product to be low-cost, accessible to both users and non-technical staff and efficient. One such advantage of this is the speed in which lithophanes are generated, which if being produced manually by hand would take far longer, increasing development time and cost. This rapid manufacture allows for developments to be implemented in the lithophanes geometry as they are suggested, allowing quick and efficient testing.
The potential impact of this system is substantial, offering museums and other cultural institutions an affordable solution to increase accessibility by allowing visually impaired visitors to experience historical artwork in a more inclusive and engaging manner, with the history of the art being conveyed through detailed audio description. It is hoped that the findings from this will allow museums to better adapt artwork for visually impaired visitors in an enriching and welcoming experience.
