Daily Materials Discovery Panels

These texture panels were designed by William B. Hotchkiss and Tyler Kidder for the Alexander Central School Tech 8 class in 2019. It was shared with students at the New York School for the Blind.

Designer's Note:

We designed a unique 2 part texture board that was taken an inspiration from the design of stairs and xylophones. The board can be 3D printed and can be customized depending on the individual's preference. The board is made to have levels and to be both lightweight and unique. The board is hollow on the inside to make it easier for transporting. The board can be used not only for touch, but it is made much like a xylophone so the person could use their finger and tap the tiles for a different sound for each varying material. The board is made so that the person(s) can customize the board with things that are just lying around like some wood or maybe a piece of cloth or carpet. We want to make it easier for people who are seeing impaired to have a way to feel different textures, but we plan on expanding on the idea to make it so the tiles could have interchangeable material cards much like baseball card sleeves where the individual could change the materials out for new or a different kind of material. We plan on changing the board so it can be lighter or cheaper and in different sizes and shapes. We want to make it so the board can be as cheap as possible and easier to ship globally for people all around the world, but we also want it to be environmentally friendly, so we want the boards to be made out of recycled plastic so it could be both lightweight, cheap, and Eco friendly. We want to make the board more compact so it can be carried around so it might fold down the middle and clip together to make a rectangle. These are just ideas for the future and are currently in development. We may make some models like spheres and rubix cubes. We are still making modifications on the board so it may have some differences between the first and final models.

Project Resources: 

Download additional photos and 3D print files for board base.