Statistics

1. Pictures Worth a Thousand WordsPictures Worth a Thousand Words A. Gonzales1, L. Harris1, B. Martinez1, E. Hasper2, R.A. Windhorst2, D.P. Baluch11School of Life Sciences, 2School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 USA Overview(Overview) Statistics(Statistics) Stem Classes (STEM Classes) Statistics In microscopy and astronomy items that are either too small or distant are visualized through optics and captured as images, but not everyone is capable of seeing the world through pictures. For those who are blind, images have no meaning. The vision impaired must rely on written text to describe anything that they perceive beyond their remaining four senses. Students who are blind, or who do not have sufficient vision to read print, are consistently restricted to second-rate access to STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) content, and are expected to learn the material and be proficient enough to pass the course. There is no evidence that people who are blind lack the necessary analytical abilities to pursue a range of careers in STEM. On the other hand, the lack of opportunities to develop and use those abilities impedes both their educational and employment advancement in STEM disciplines. Within the 3D IMAGINE project, we are addressing the issue of low participation in STEM courses by creating 3D tactile prints and models that will help the blind “visualize” images that are critical in understanding key concepts. These tactile displays are incorporated into entry level STEM science classes to assist blind students with learning image rich material. Current technologies used to create projected tactile surfaces include raised ink printing or changing 2D images into a height field 3D surface geometry that is then converted into a CAD format and used to create MDF (medium density fiberboard) boards or rapid 3D prototype models [4, 5]. Through the development of pilot courses which are In the United States there are approximately 21.5 million people that are either totally blind or vision impaired [1]. Studies have shown that by the age of 16 years old, the average vision impaired student is 3 years behind in subjects such as mathematics in comparison to their peers [2]. From the population of individuals who have STEM careers, less than 5% will be held by those who have some form of vision disability [3]. enriched with tactile image displays, we are exploring the limitations encountered by those who are visually impaired and are working to develop new technologies that will make it possible for these students to learn and find their place in the STEM community. Almost all aspects of normal life are vision based which means that items we use every day to function require the ability to see. This circumstance causes an unintentional bias because the mechanisms for doing most anything rely on sight. Since courses involving microscopy and astronomy, as well as the majority of all STEM disciplines, are image based, this image rich content must be converted into a tactile format to enable the visually impaired student to have the same access to the course materials as their peers (Figs. 1-4). current technologies (Current Technologies) Fig. 4. Tactile boards being tested by a visually impaired student. Drawbacks for technologies 1-4 is that they have limited resolution and relief variation. This in turn requires an image to be heavily simplified, and often re-created, before it can be rendered. In the existing practice, this process is largely done manually by sighted transcribers on an ad hoc, per-image basis. Since the images in STEM classes are so diverse, it remains a challenge to establish proper procedures for this critical step in the tactile rendering of an image. Tactile embossers render graphics by raised-lines that are formed by the striking pins of the printer. 2. Swell-paperrendering utilizes heat sensitivity of micro-capsules in the paper to create a raised-ink image. Tactile printers using heavy card stock typically suffer from poor resolution and very little variation in the relief’s height, resulting in the loss of the subtleties of an image’s tonalities. (Fig. 1B). 3. Thermoformuses a technique of molding plastic into a matrix, which forms a relief model with a vacuum press and high temperature. 4. Texturized Painting is a 3D technique to highlight specific features in confocal microscope and other imaging data. This is accomplished by applying bubble paint that contains various textures, such as glitter or sand, to represent different colors within an image (Fig. 2B). 5. 3D Medium-Density Fiber board and HDPEarrays are made by 3D modeling tools and Computer Numeric Control (CNC) machining to create relief surfaces, which accurately renders tonal variations. This 3D relief provides a more complete depiction of a 2D image, allowing the blind user to grasp both its general traits, and its more nuanced details upon further inspection. (Fig. 1C.) Examples(Examples) References(References) [1] “Employment Statistics for people who are blind or visually impaired: U.S.” American Foundation for the Blind. http://www.afb.org/section.asp?SectionID=15&DocumentID=1529. Last accessed Jun 22, 2012. [2] Blackorby, J., et al., “The academic performance of secondary school students with disabilities. Wagner, M., et al., The achievements of youth with disabilities during secondary school. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International (2003).[3] Cavenaugh, B. S., et al., “National Center for Mentoring Excellence: Year 2 Evaluation Report,” Mississippi State University, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision, (2007).[4] Danigelis, A., “Printed Photos the Blind can See.” Discovery News. http://news.discovery.com/tech/blind-portrait-photos-tactile-tech-110216.html. Last accessed Jun 22, 2012. 5] Arcand, K.K., et al., “Exploring the Invisible Universe: A Tactile and Braille Exhibit of Astronomical Images.” CAP J. 8, pp 15-17, (2010). Additional members of the 3D IMAGINE educational outreach team includes Terri Hedgpeth, Disability Resource Center Director, as well as Don Vance and Carlo Sammarco from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Funding support is provided by SOLS (School of Life Sciences), SESE (School of Earth and Space Exploration), CLAS (College of Letters, Arts & Sciences) and OKED (Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development) at ASU and the ASU/NASA space grant. Fig. 2.Anaphase spindle from an aortic smooth muscle cell shown as confocal microscope (A), texturize painted (B) and 3D height field (C) images. Bar = 10 um. Fig. 3.Airy disk diffraction pattern (A) transformed into a 3D height field geometric image (B) that will be converted into a CAD file used to create a 3D model through CNC machining. Fig. 1. Butterfly Nebula image (A) transformed into a swell print (B) and MDF 3D tactile board (C).