One-day London exhibition helps blind people feel photographs for the first time

A one-day London exhibition is showcasing a world-first technology to enable blind people to feel photographs for the first time. Touch: Beyond Vision will be held at the OXO2 Gallery on Monday 15th September, featuring an artificial intelligence tool developed by design software company Carveco that transforms photographs into tactile 3D models. 

In a departure from AI news revolving around job replacements, environmental risks, and "illegally stealing music", Touch: Beyond Vision aims for the tech to include rather than exclude, allowing blind and visually impaired people to experience images for the first time through touch. The exhibition also includes 18 tactile artworks of British icons ranging from David Bowie and The Beatles to Stonehenge and Edinburgh Castle. 

“Every gallery should include tactile artwork for the blind, and every home should have the ability to create tactile memories,” Carveco’s Managing Director Robert Newman said, “technology should be about inclusion, empathy, and access – and with AI, we can finally make that possible.” 

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