The internet is awash with time-wasting pages and projects. So little of it gives anything back to the casual observer.
Except…
Sometimes, just sometimes, the web turns up something utterly heart warming, intelligent and just plain joyful.
Yahoo Japan has created the ‘Hands on Search’ machine in an attempt to turn web search into a useful, tactile tool for children with impaired vision. The machine has been introduced to the students of the University of Tsukuba’s Special Needs Education School for the Visually Impaired.
Shaped like a giant cloud (see what they did there?), the Hands on Search machine combines voice recognition technology with a MakerBot 3D printer to turn users’ audible queries into physical objects.
Just say what you want to search for out loud and the machine tells you it’s been found, prints it out and lets you know that the print is ready.
The 3D data is provided by a range of companies including; Nissan Motor, amana and Tokyo Sky Tree. If no results can be found the machine posts ads to find an appropriate model via ‘Links For Good’, one of Yahoo Japan’s charitable social sites.
This may all sound terribly mechanical and impersonal but see it working and you’ll see the joy a concept like this can bring to people.
There’s not much else to say, except if you have an interest in 3D printing and believe that technology can and should enrich people’s lives, you should definitely watch the video…
Check out: http://sawareru.jp/en/
