TactileMap Generator

Generated STL file design contrasted with Google Maps location of the Tufts University capmus.
In progress testing.

Inspiration

In a world increasingly driven by maps and data, we often take for granted the ability to visualize the space around us. But for the blind and visually impaired, understanding urban environments remains a deeply personal and often frustrating challenge. The inspiration for TactileMap Generator came from a simple yet powerful question: What if we could hold our cities in our hands?

We envisioned a tool that empowers visually impaired individuals to explore their neighborhoods, campuses, or travel destinations -- not through screens, but through touch. By combining open-source data with 3D printing, we sought to bridge a sensory gap and promote true spatial literacy for all.

What it does

TactileMap Generator is a tool that creates 3D printable tactile maps from OpenStreetMap data for any location in the world. With just a place name, it:

Extracts buildings and walkable paths
Processes and cleans the geometry
Converts it into a 3D model (STL format)
Outputs a ready-to-print map that can be physically touched and explored

It’s accessible, open-source, and scalable -- making tactile maps available for schools for the blind, urban planners, educators, and communities globally.

How we built it

We built the core engine in Python, leveraging several powerful geospatial and 3D libraries:

OSMnx: To extract building and path data from OpenStreetMap
GeoPandas + Shapely: For geometry cleaning and simplification
Trimesh: To generate high-quality 3D meshes from 2D footprints
argparse: To enable CLI-based usage

The tool auto-detects coordinate systems and handles errors gracefully -- falling back on defaults when data is incomplete.

We also prepared example models of well-known landmarks (e.g., Tufts University Campus, Central Park, Eiffel Tower surroundings) to showcase its potential.

Challenges we ran into

Messy or missing map data: Not all areas have consistent OSM data, especially for footpaths or building outlines.
Geometry validation: Real-world shapes are messy -- we had to clean and unify polygons without losing too much detail (our Eiffel Tower example shows this more clearly).
3D mesh generation: Ensuring the final STL files were non-empty, watertight, and printer-ready required careful processing.
Making it meaningful: Designing tactile output isn’t just about buildings -- it’s about clarity. Too much detail, and it becomes unreadable.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Created a fully working end-to-end prototype in under three days
Generated multiple realistic, 3D printable maps
Developed a robust fallback system for missing or incomplete data
Designed a project that is inclusive, educational, and scalable
Made something that could genuinely help people if even in quiet ways -- and that's the biggest win

What we learned

How to work with geospatial data at scale
The importance of clean, simplified geometry in tactile design
That accessibility tools need to be modular and fault-tolerant
That open data, when used creatively, can drive social good in unexpected ways

Above all, we learned that simplicity and empathy are often the most powerful design principles.