Fifteenth International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This paper describes the EU UNESCO4ALL TOUR project, which aims to create an innovative, thematic, transnational tourism product based on the UNESCO World Heritage (WH) sites and targeted to visually impaired people. The scope is to develop an accessible, transnational cultural tourism package mixing together culture, the outstanding UNESCO WH sites by the exploitation of a custom technology enabling the blind and visually impaired to experience cultural heritage by integrating tactile exploration with audio data. This will be possible by the use of a high-tech “ring” detecting and reading the NFC tags included in the 3D printed replicas of the artworks (tactile surface tagged with NFC sensors) and then to communicate in wireless mode with a smart device (through a mobile app for tablets or smart phones).”. I would like to present the making of and the outcomes of the project, ended in 2021, during pandemic. My role within the UWE Centre for Print Research group has been to find innovative solutions for the production of three-dimensional models in small series for tactile exploration. I have also taken care of the coherence between the significance of the works and architecture of the four UNESCO sites and tactile translation for the blind.The project EU UNESCO4ALL TOUR won the “Shaping Europe’s Digital Future” award during the EUIndustryDays.