Ingenieure des Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory und von Meta haben ein neuartiges Photopolymerharz entwickelt, das im 3D-Druckverfahren verwendet wird und fließende Übergänge von weich zu fest ermöglicht.
Das Material wurde genutzt, um einen am Finger tragbaren Braille-Generator zu entwickeln, der Textnachrichten in die Blindenschrift Braille übersetzt, indem er Braille-Buchstaben erzeugt, die von blinden Menschen ertastet werden können.
Diese bahnbrechende Entwicklung hat das Potenzial, die digitale Kommunikation für blinde Menschen zu verbessern und zeigt die vielfältigen Anwendungen von flexiblen Materialien im Bereich der tragbaren Technologie.
Advancements in 3D Printing: Finger-Worn Braille Generator Made from New, Stretchable Material.
In a groundbreaking development, engineers and chemists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, have created a 3D-printed device capable of translating text messages into Braille, the tactile writing system used by the blind. This breakthrough owes itself to a novel material inspired by human tissue, offering the ability to replicate stiffness gradients found in nature.
The portable Braille generator, worn on the finger, is constructed from a photopolymer resin produced using the Digital Light Processing 3D printing process. What makes this material particularly remarkable is its capacity to achieve seamless transitions from soft to firm. This is achieved through the control of the light dosage used to cure the material. Lower light intensity results in a softer material, while higher intensity renders the material stiffer.
Engineers at Meta have utilized this material to develop a Braille generator that translates text messages into tactile Braille characters. This is accomplished by pushing dots that form the Braille letters out from the surface using incoming air.
The Braille generator is connected to a smartphone and a pneumatic unit. When text is transmitted via the phone, portions of the wearable device fill with air, causing it to deform and produce Braille characters that can be explored by blind individuals.
To ensure the proper functionality of this innovative device, it was crucial to vary the stiffness of the photopolymer resin to enable different deformations when air is supplied. The developed photopolymer resin exhibits an astonishing stretchability, approximately 200 times its original size. Transitioning from soft to firm material increases toughness by a factor of ten.
This breakthrough in 3D printing not only presents the opportunity to better integrate blind individuals into digital communication but also demonstrates the enormous potential of flexible materials in the production of wearable technologies. This development could revolutionize how we design technology to meet the needs of individuals with diverse abilities.
