This study aims to automate the production of globes for the visually impaired (VI) and provide low-cost alternatives. This process is achieved using a spherical surface processing machine dedicated to globe fabrication, equipped with a two-axis rotary positioning mechanism and a semiconductor laser. The machine operates based on machining paths generated by a custom-developed computer-aided manufacturing system specifically designed for globe production. As the system generates tool paths from geopolitical information, it supports a variety of applications beyond conventional drilling. These include the creation of raised solid borders, the addition of textures using small point clouds applied exclusively to land areas, and the merging of small-area countries with larger neighboring countries. This allows users to obtain globes tailored to their specific purposes and preferences. As a result, the developed processing system is capable of automatically producing customized globes for VI individuals within one day. In an experiment conducted to investigate which globe characteristics were preferred by several VI participants, no single design was found to be universally preferred. This finding indicates the effectiveness of the proposed system, as it enables customization according to individual user preferences.
Asakawa et al. (Mon,) studied this question.