Torino startup unveils 3D display to break museum barriers

The Torino-based startup New Planet 3D has developed Espositore For All, the world's first 3D-printed display designed to make museum objects accessible to people with visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive disabilities. The device features a tactile reproduction of an artwork, an audio system for the blind, and videos with sign language and subtitles for the deaf. The prototype, containing a replica of the Busto di Diana, is on show at the Reggia di Venaria until December 31, 2017. Production will begin in 2018, with sales targeting Europe and the United States. The project was developed with six associations including the Unione Italiana dei Ciechi ed Ipovedenti and the Istituto dei Sordi. This initiative follows international precedents such as the Prado's 'Hoy toca el Prado' for the blind, and long-standing accessibility programs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (40 years), the Fine Arts Museum of Boston (35 years), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which offers programs for various disabilities. In Italy, the Museo Tattile Statale Omero in Ancona offers a fully tactile collection, while Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Musei Civici di Brescia, MAMbo in Bologna, and Venice's LIS tours also provide accessible offerings.