Enhancing Tactile Learning: A Co-Designed System for Supporting Speech Interaction with Multi-Part 3D Printed Models by Students who are Blind

3D printed models (3DPMs) are increasingly used to support the education of students who are blind or have low vision (BLV). As 3DPMs are more widely-adopted, educators are using more complex multi-part models. However, with this increased complexity comes additional challenges for their use, such as supporting audio labels of multiple parts as well as guiding the assembly and disassembly of the model. This work explores the co-design and evaluation of a system that supports the use of multi-part 3DPMs by BLV students. Working with BLV adults and children, as well as educators, an iPad application was developed to support interaction with an insect model, including speech interaction and support for assembly. Evaluation showed that the system was strongly enjoyed by students and educators were enthusiastic as they believed it would increase classroom engagement and inclusion, and its support for voice annotation could be used for assessment.