Polaris — Tactile Star Map for Blind Astronomers

A 3D-printed and resin-cast star chart that lets blind and low-vision astronomers read the night sky with their fingertips, with each major constellation paired to a sound and a Braille caption. Designed with — not for — students from the Lisbon school for the blind.

complexity: mediumtolerance: precision

Polaris — Tactile Star Map for Blind Astronomers

Snapshot

Feasibility at a glance

PT localization

10/10

Full

The whole build can be sourced in Portugal.

Per unit

€95–€160 per map

at 300-unit volume

Starter batch

300units

minimum viable run

To first batch

How it's made

4 stations · build route

1
Plot the sky
Reproject Hipparcos catalogue into the disc's frame at the chosen epoch.
2
Print the relief
SLA print the master, then cast in pigmented epoxy for a tougher finish.
3
Wire the audio
Capacitive touch under each star, mapped to a short narrated clip.
4
Co-design with users
Every prototype goes back to the students before the next revision.

Plot the sky

Reproject Hipparcos catalogue into the disc's frame at the chosen epoch.

Print the relief

SLA print the master, then cast in pigmented epoxy for a tougher finish.

Wire the audio

Capacitive touch under each star, mapped to a short narrated clip.

Co-design with users

Every prototype goes back to the students before the next revision.

Risks to watch

3 identified · 0 blocking

3 medium

Medium

Buyer doesn't recognise the category

An unusual product needs unusual education before it sells.

Mitigation — Ship 50 units to lighthouse customers free for the first quarter.

Medium

Fragile / temperature-sensitive shipping

Bio / consumable products need controlled shipping that small couriers skip.

Mitigation — Build a corrugated insulation insert and fly your own first 20 boxes.

Medium

Open-design drift dilutes the brand

Other makers will fork the design — you need a moat that isn't the file.

Mitigation — Sell the cartridge / refill / service, not the device.

The plan

9 tasks · 22 weeks to first batch

Week 1

2 tasks

foundersmall effort

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

One material set, one feature set, one user persona. Anything else is roadmap, not pilot.

opssmall effort

Shortlist three vendors per critical step

Use GETMILK Match to pull a ranked list across the top three processes — sla_printing, casting, laser_cutting. Send the same RFQ to all three; do not customise per vendor yet.

Weeks 2–3

2 tasks

engineeringmedium effort

Freeze the design for the first 10 units

Move the active CAD set to a tagged release; any change after the freeze gets logged in the change-board.

opsmedium effort

Place first-article orders with two of the three vendors

waits on Vendor shortlist signed off

Order one of each critical part at full spec. Do not buy 100 — buy 1, inspect, learn, then buy 100.

Weeks 4–7

2 tasks

engineeringlarge effort

Run the integration pilot

waits on First articles delivered

Ten complete units assembled in-house. Track yield, defect modes, and cycle time on a shared dashboard.

legalmedium effort

Kick off compliance + certification

Engage a notified body for the relevant standards. Booking a slot now beats discovering a 12-week wait later.

Weeks 8–16

2 tasks

foundermedium effort

Put 25 units in the hands of lighthouse users

waits on Integration pilot complete

These users help refine the product, but they also become your first paid customers. Charge a symbolic price so the data is real.

foundersmall effort

Scale-readiness review with the chosen primary vendor

waits on Lighthouse trial telemetry

Before you tool up for 1000 units, walk the line together and agree on capacity, payment terms, and the failure-mode plan.

Ongoing

1 task

opssmall effort

Stand up a customer support loop

Every defect that reaches a user becomes a ticket, a root cause, a fix, and a regression test on the line.

Who you need

3 roles to fill before month one

Pre-seed partner

Beta Capital Lisbon

Funds early industrial-design plays others won't touch.

Lighthouse customer scout

Web Summit network

First 25 paid users live inside this network.

User research partner

Tomorrow's Citizens

Runs paid ethnography studies for civic tech.

Watch-outs

3 things to avoid in this plan

watch-out

Founder time leaks into vendor management instead of customer development

certification

Compliance booked too late and blocks shipping for 8+ weeks

quality

Demand exceeds the chosen vendor's small-batch capacity right when momentum matters

2 tasks in week 1

Lock the pilot scope to one variant

Open the plan

Shortlist

462 matched · 8 shown, ranked by coverage

Covers, left to right: SLA 3D Printing · casting · Laser Cutting · FDM 3D Printing · Soldering · Final Assembly

Manufacturer

Location

Covers

Certifications

People

3DWays

Oeiras

—

Shirakawa

—

IMOPLASTIC

Marinha Grande TELEFONE

—

Associação C.C.G/ZGDV - Centro de Computação Gráfica

—

CEFAMOL

—

CEFAMOL - Associação Nacional da Indústria de Moldes

—

Imoplastic Group

Marinha Grande

ISO 13485, ISO 9001

Castelbel

Porto

—

Registry coverage

Portuguese producers per required step

Final Assembly

369

casting

FDM 3D Printing

Laser Cutting

Soldering

SLA 3D Printing

Depth

How many cover more than one step

462cover at least one step

56cover two or more

6cover three or more

0cover all 6 steps

The gap

Picked based on the localization score (10/10) plus the dominant process (sla printing). For an early build at this batch size, this gives you the best balance of cost, risk, and speed of iteration.

Send one RFQ to the top 4

3DWays, Shirakawa, IMOPLASTIC, Associação C.C.G/ZGDV - Centro de Computação Gráfica — same package, one click.

Request quotes

Polaris — Tactile Star Map for Blind Astronomers

Snapshot

What it does

How it's made

Risks to watch

Production timeline

What goes into it

The plan

Who you need

Watch-outs

Shortlist

Registry coverage

Depth