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Blind students get incredible 3D-printed 'yearbook'

The graduating class of the Seoul National School for the Blind in South Korea received an incredible 3D-printed yearbook so students can remember what their friends look like.

Anthony Domanico
CNET freelancer Anthony Domanico is passionate about all kinds of gadgets and apps. When not making words for the Internet, he can be found watching Star Wars or "Doctor Who" for like the zillionth time. His other car is a Tardis.
Anthony Domanico

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This is what happiness looks like. A blind student hugs her 3D-printed bust from 3D TEK. Video screenshot by Anthony Domanico/CNET

For many people, high school yearbooks serve as a treasured reminder of a pivotal time in life. But for blind and visually impaired students, the photos that are so central to the traditional memory books have by their very nature been inaccessible. Here's a heartwarming story about how 3D printing changed that for one group of students.

The best 3D-printing projects of 2014 (pictures)

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At the Seoul National School for the Blind in South Korea, 2014's graduating class walked away with a 3D-printed "yearbook" so they can remember the friends they made in school forever. Each of the eight students received extremely detailed 3D-printed busts of themselves and their classmates, and the bottom of each bust has a braille name tag they can use to identify their peers.

The yearbooks were created by 3D TEK, a small printing company in South Korea, and the global marketing communications company Innocean Worldwide. The Touchable Yearbook project was entered into the Ad Stars Festival's awards show where it took home a silver medal back in August. But while the project isn't exactly a new creation, we can't imagine a more inspiring story for getting in the holiday spirit.

In the video below, you can just see how incredibly happy the students are to be receiving their first yearbook. And just you try not having all the feels.

(Via 3DPrint.com)