Innovative Methods of Accessing Cultural Heritage for Visually Impaired People

The goal of APTOS is to provide a viable answer to the question “How do I enhance the possibilities of visually impaired people to experience our cultural reserve?”. It is a fact that for this group of people the tactile perception of the morphology of an artefact is the main substitute of sight. Therefore, a multidisciplinary approach (with the help of science and humanities) is proposed to develop, standardize and evaluate an innovative methodology that enables visually impaired people to appreciate and understand the cultural reserve through an interactive experience that based on tacit and hearing. APTOS aims at harmonizing the national with the European policy on providing accessibility to the cultural reserve for people with special needs while offering the pleasure and the opportunity to enjoy it through novel approaches. It aims at reducing the cultural exclusion while strengthening the relationship between the visually impaired people and the museums.
More specifically, APTOS proposes the osmosis of cutting-edge technologies such as ambient intelligence, microprocessors-microcontrollers, 3D digitization-printing and audio information, for the development of three interactive systems (Aptos.Exhibit, Aptos.Map, Aptos.MyExhibit) that are based on “Smart exhibit-replicas ” and their installation in the Epigraphic Museum of Athens. The proposed systems will support both the visit to the museum (Aptos.Exhibit, Aptos.Map) as well as the interaction with the cultural reserve after leaving the museum (Aptos.MyExhibit).