3D printed models help blind and low-vision students learn more about their world
What do puffer fish and the Mona Lisa have in common?
Not much, unless you're in a classroom at the South Australian School for Vision Impaired, where they are being meticulously printed into 3D models for students to investigate.
These children might not ever gaze upon Mona Lisa's mysterious smile, but there was plenty of laughter and conversation about the image they have mentally created with what is known as a "finger glance" over the 3D printed model.
"I like the 3D image — her hair and there's the lines of her coat, and you can also feel her hands … it's really detailed," Hamza, 9, said.
Researchers say 3D printing technology has helped revolutionise the way that blind and low-vision students learn about the world around them.
The models, they say, provide significantly more context and understanding than what can be gleaned from two-dimensional raised-line drawings.