Moving ‘Touchable Memories’ Project Makes Photos Tangible for People Without Vision

Spanish creative agency Lola recently started a moving 3D printer project titled Touchable Memories. The goal: to let those who are blind or nearly blind ‘see’ some of their most cherished photographs once more.

The video above introduces this project to the world in the most emotional of terms. In it, you get to hear several people tell their stories and describe some of their most cherished memories — memories that they’re about to ‘see’ either for the very first time, or for the first time since losing their eyesight thanks to a Pirate 3D printer.

Project director Fred Bosch described one particular person’s experience to Fast Company:

Daniela was perhaps who stands out the most. She chose a memory that not only brought her back to her childhood and the ski holiday she spent with her family, but also reminded her of intimate details that she had forgotten, like the wool cap she was wearing at the time and the crunch of the snow beneath her boots. She even joked that the experience must have been similar to what the first person that saw himself in a photograph felt.

The point of the project, was to make 3D printers more human… to show how technology, and 3D printing in general, could have a real, emotional impact. To that end, we’d say they succeeded in spades.

(via Pixable)