Perspectives | 3D Terrain Puzzle for the Visually Impaired

Jigsaw puzzles are a great mind exercising and fun activity enjoyed by many people. However they are not exactly accessible those who are blind or visually impaired. Some 3D puzzles do exist such as connecting Tetris like blocks together to form a cube or putting wooden sticks of different lengths into a box to fit. Canadian industrial design student Jacqueline Tollington has created her own 3D puzzle concept specially designed for people with visual impairments called Perspectives. A 3D jigsaw puzzle of real life terrains.

Puzzle Parts
Perspectives puzzles would be recreated terrains of real places in model size. That model is then sliced apart into typical puzzle shapes. The example shown above is made from wood that was probably created by a computer controlled router. Other materials such as plastics, rubbers, stones, etc could also be used. Each material could also be textured differently to add different tactile feels. The user would use only their hands and mind skills to solve the puzzle.

Potential Benefits
Brain exercises are important and Perspective is another tool for that purpose. All while being fun also. Tollington had another purpose in mind for Perspective also. Since the puzzles are of real life terrains, the user can then use the solved puzzle to familiarize themselves with the land. Tollington even created a story of how a Perspective user could enjoy a trip to a location better because they knew the layout of the land after solving a Perspective puzzle.

Conclusion
Perspective is a fun, simple, and useful concept puzzle. I talked with my friend who is blind and he thought this could be a good product. To see more of Jacqueline Tollington’s portfolio, visit this website.