If you're blind or have low vision, fireworks can feel a little exclusive to those with full sight.
。

"Feeling Fireworks" is a new project attempting to make fireworks more inclusive for people with low or limited vision, or who are blind — yep, they're fireworks you can "feel." 。

A new project by Disney Research and ETH Zurich's Dorothea Reusser, Espen Knoop, Roland Siegwart and Paul Beardsley, it's a large-scale tactile firework show in which water jets are directed onto a flexible screen.
。

Users put their hands up against the other side of the screen, a rear-mounted Kinect detects the user, and they will be able to feel "tactile fireworks that are directly analogous to physical fireworks happening in the sky."。

Thanks for signing up!。

Different nozzles produce different "firework" effects — three jet nozzles for creating rockets and explosions, one shower nozzle for creating crackle effects, and one nozzle for a blooming flower effect. 。

The nozzles are mounted on pan-tilt units to render movement across a latex screen, and the water moves through the system by a controllable pump.。

Plus, the team propose a visual element to the screen as well, for total inclusivity. "We envisage it as an installation at a firework show that attracts all crowd members to share the experience of feeling fireworks," says the research paper. 。 According to 。According to。 New Scientist 。, the project is still in demonstration phase, having shown at the User Interface Software and Technology conference in October. 。

NS
。