Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem troch Nuoran Chen, Yilin Niu and Siming Jin

Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem troch Nuoran Chen, Yilin Niu and Siming Jin is in heech wurdearre winner fan de tige prestizjeuze 2026 A' Design Award yn Brûns yn de kompetysje-kategory Ûnderwiis, Learmiddelen en Trainingsynhâld Ûntwerp.

BrûnsÛnderwiis· 2026

Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem

troch Nuoran Chen, Yilin Niu and Siming Jin

Klant: Nuoran Chen

A' Design Award yn Brûns Winner yn de kategory Ûnderwiis

7,220

Ferifiearre Priiswinner

Ferifiearje Prisstatus foar #177478

Besjoch by A' Design Award Parseberjocht Priisbadge

Kleuren

It Untwerp

Oer Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem

Tactilelink is in taktyl grafysk underwiissysteem foar bline en fisueel beheinde studinten. Tradisjonele hân-oer-hân ynstruksje beheint de selsstannigens fan studinten en is ôfhinklik fan in beheind tal spesjalisearre dosinten. Tactilelink kombinearret in 3D-printe tabletframe, ferhege line-grafiken fan skema's fan elektryske sirkwys en cross-platform software. Sonifikaasje liedt elke studint nei in doelkomponint, wêrby't de toanhichte en yntensiteit fan it lûd feroarje mei de ôfstân fan de finger. Ynstrukteurs kinne ferskate studinten tagelyk folgje en audio-annotaasjes tariede foar selsstannige neisjen nei de les.

De Erkenning

Oer de A' Design Award yn Brûns

Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem is in winner fan de A' Design Award yn Brûns, in heech prestisjeuze erkenning foar treflike ûntwerpen dy't har ûnderskiede troch kreativiteit, fernuft en tûkens. Brûnswinners binne tige feardige en opfallend kreative artefakten dy't de grutte ûnderfining, ferbylding en betochtsumens fan har ûntwerpers befêstigje. Fan Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem wurdt ferwachte dat it in tige heech achte, bewûndere en dierber objekt is dat opmerklik profesjoneel en ynnovatyf is. Dit winnende ûntwerp fan de A' Design Award yn Brûns yntegrearret de bêste praktiken yn keunst, wittenskip, ûntwerp en technology en is treflik om syn omtinken foar detail. Tactilelink Taktyl Grafysk Underwiissysteem foldocht behoeften prachtich, reitsjet winsken, betsjoeveret gefoelens en sprekt nijsgjirrigens oan.

Efter it Untwerp

Parsepakket

Credits, teamleden en technyske details levere troch de ûntwerper.

Unike Eigenskippen: Tactilelink is an affordable tactile graphic education system for blind and visually impaired students. Traditional hand-over-hand instruction limits students' independence and strains an already scarce specialist workforce. SoundPath lets a single instructor guide multiple students at once through sonification and voiceover annotations, making tactile graphic learning accessible, scalable, and independent.
Ofmjittingen & Ferpakking: The physical components include a 3D-printed tablet frame (290 × 226 × 7 mm) and several tactile graphics of Arduino diagrams (279.4 × 215.9 mm). The digital component is cross-platform software that works as both a tablet app and a desktop web app, creating a flexible teaching system.
Labels: Accessibility, Tactile graphic, Education system, Inclusive education, Blind Arduino
Produksjetechnology: Tactilelink is built with simplicity, affordability, and accessibility in mind. For student’s system, it combines 3D-printed tablet frames with software optimized for common educational tablets, ensuring easy setup and scalability. It uses sonification to guide students in exploring and learning raised-line graphics. For instructor’s system, it’s an one-step, AI empowered software help they instruct multiple students easily, reducing their workload, expanding the educational capacity to more underserved blind students.
Untwerpútdaging: The hardest part was shifting from designer to facilitator. Co-design challenged us to suspend our assumptions, especially as sighted designers. We wrongly assumed blind users would prefer vibration cues over sound. In reality, sonification was less fatiguing and more effective. This required overcoming internal bias, embracing user knowledge, and adapting to insights often overlooked due to our own perspective.
Undersyk: This research is user-centered design. Our goal was to create an affordable system for teaching tactile graphics to visually impaired students. We observed Blind Arduino sessions and collaborated with the East Bay Center for the Blind, then used co-design workshops, Wizard of Oz prototyping, and usability testing with teachers and students. Results showed sonification on existing hardware best supported group learning, offering insights that impact education, accessibility, and inclusive design.
Ynspiraasje: The idea came from observing an Arduino class at the East Bay Center for the Blind, where one instructor had to physically guide each student's hands through circuit diagrams one by one. With nearly 5,000 specialist teachers short across the U.S., this one-on-one model is unsustainable. Inspired by sonification, we use continuous pitch changes to guide students to target components independently, enabling one teacher to instruct multiple students simultaneously, in person or remotely.
Projektdoer: This project started in August 2024 and finished in December 2024.
Operaasjestreamferrin: During class, the instructor taps a selected component on the tactile graphic for students to explore. Students navigate to the component following sonification guidance: the pitch and intensity of the sound shift based on how close their finger is to the target. Teacher can observes their progress on their interface to provide real-time support. After class, teachers could use the software to create detailed audio annotation and design the component-learning sequence, publishing it to student’s device. Students could review the knowledge independently without teacher’s presence by following the sonification guidance.
Teamleden: Nuoran Chen
Yilin Niu
Siming (Susie) Jin