Adding Braille to the Map

This week, after experimenting with different 3D printing software and identifying possible problems and solutions, we are working on combining the detailed floor plans with the braille printed as well.

Trial & Error with SketchUp

Last week, we were able to print out a detailed extruded floor plan using Fusion360, which was a step in the right direction. This was great, however, it took a while to eliminate unnecessary elements of the map that would possibly throw off our users. SketchUp is a more sophisticated software that can create 3D models and with its LayOut feature, we can add model views to pages, adjust drawing scales, line weights, and our braille we will implement. After watching tutorials on Lynda.com, we found that the procedure used with the rectangle tool was too tedious for a large-scale building like Carrier with numerous rooms and hallways. Below is the tutorial we used to learn SketchUp.

https://www.lynda.com/SketchUp-tutorials/SketchUp-2013-Essential-Training/145213-2.html?org=jmu.edu

Floor Plans

Initially, we thought the floor plans given to us from the JMU website of carrier would translate well into our software, however, each map required fine detail adjustments and are currently researching a more efficient way of getting the floor plans assimilated with our braille. We successfully printed a map with braille, however many adjustments need to be made such as the dimensions of the braille, where we should locate it on the map to be user-friendly, and whether or not we should use extruded walls or boxes to represent rooms, similar to the Rutgers University students prints.

https://news.rutgers.edu/news/braille-maps-blind-and-visually-impaired-created-3-d-printing-technology-rutgers/20160221#.WoRX5OjwaM8

TinkerCad

We decided to use the previous 3D print of the Carrier floor plan perimeter as an outline in TinkerCad. To extrude the individual rooms and leave the hallways hollow, we used the solid shapes to fill in the rooms.