What
Tooteko is the system that transforms tactile models of works of art into speaking models.
Tactile models are the way through which the blind and partially sighted people perceive the works of art. Many museums are gearing up with reproductions of their most significant works to ensure that blind and partially sighted people have access to the most representative pieces of art.
The models, however, are per se “dumb” and an audio guide or a human guide is necessary to integrate tactile perception with verbal information.
What is peculiar about Tooteko is the fact that the explanation is activated by the contact of the hand on the different parts of the model: if I touch a capital I get the explanation of that specific detail, if I touch the lintel I am informed about the lintel. If I touch one and then the other I get the information in the correct sequence, differently from the audioguide that cannot follow the process of tactile perception in the sequence that from time to time is performed by different people.
Tooteko is made of three elements:
- hi-tech ring
- tactile surface tagged with NFC sensors
- app for smartphone and tablet
The ring reads the NFC tags and, thanks to the Tooteko App, communicates in wireless mode with the smartphone or tablet. During the tactile navigation of the surface, when the finger falls on a hotspot the ring identifies the NFC tag and activates the correspondent audio track through the app.
Thus, a relevant audio information is linked to each hotspot and it is delivered once the hotspot is activated by the ring.
Tooteko is based on a low cost technology that can be applied to any 3D support such as: statues, architectures, works of art or design, but also to thermoformed sheets, tactile surfaces commonly used for the education of the blind or low visioned.
Who
Fabio D’Agnano: Coordinator of the Master in Digital Architecture (IUAV, Venice). He has been working for over twenty years on solid modeling and prototyping.
Serena Ruffato: Post Graduate Master degree in Digital Architecture (IUAV, Venice). Dissertation: “Architecture and the visually impaired: Rapid Prototyping for the integration”.
Gilda Lombardi: Master Degree in Semiotics with Umberto Eco. Author of guides published by Guides du Routard and Touring Club, translator from English and French.