Over 253 million people are blind or severely visually impaired, and have never experienced the privilege of seeing the visual arts.  Geometry Prague, in partnership with NeuroDigital, made art more accessible to the blind with an immersive VR experience using VR haptic glove technology that allowed the blind to see world masterpieces for the first time in history.

Three of the world’s most iconic sculptural masterpieces, each from pivotal moments in history – the bust of Nefertiti, Venus de Milo and Michelangelo’s David – were transformed into virtual objects that people could “see” through haptic glove technology for the very first time.

The haptic gloves control realistic hands in virtual space.  When the virtual hand touches a 3D object in the virtual world, the technology identifies the object and sends feedback in the form of vibrations. The Avatar VR glove was customized specifically for this project by being enriched with multi-frequency technology able to stimulate different types of skin cells’ tactile responses – to provide the blind with the most accurate perception of the 3D virtual object.

On March 23^rd, The National Gallery in Prague presented the Touching Masterpieces experience to the blind, and to the world.  The campaign garnered 215 million impressions and over 172 countries were reached.