This study explores how congenitally blind students perceive and imagine biological forms through co-creating an AI-assisted tactile picture book. Our research laboratory specializes in developing educational materials for visually impaired students. After completing several projects helping students understand biological characteristics, we became curious: how do students without visual experience conceptualize living creatures? We used AI as a creative tool and aesthetic design as a communication channel to externalize a blind student's imaginative world. The visually impaired (VI) student, along with design professionals, collaborated using Google Labs Mixboard to co-create a picture book about urban insects. The 15-year-old congenitally blind student developed characters, invented storylines, and orally described scenes. Inspired by Chinese martial arts novelist Louis Cha Leung-yung, he created a ten-legged cockroach protagonist with martial arts-style actions and settings. Prompts derived from his descriptions were input into Mixboard for image generation, with designers refining the outputs. The final 24-page book was produced using swell paper printing technology, creating tactile graphics accompanied by Chinese Braille. This collaborative project reveals that VI students' biological understanding often stems from verbal descriptions and tactile toys, resulting in imaginative yet scientifically inaccurate conceptions. The methodology demonstrates how AI-assisted co-creation can bridge imagination and reality while providing valuable insights into alternative cognitive frameworks and celebrating the boundless creativity of students with visual impairments.

Authors:
Chu Yu Cheng, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan
Kuan-Ju Ho, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Chu Yu Cheng is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taiwan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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