3D printing has gotten some media coverage recently–you may have seen a reproduction of Stephen Colbert’s head printed courtesy of MakerBots–but now it seems everyone can get in on the action. Sculpteo, a new iOS app, can print a silhouette of a person’s face on a vase or mug based on a photograph. The app can also incorporate 2D designs that can be previewed within the app before being printed three-dimensionally.
While 3D printing is more of a novelty at the moment, the technology is quite transformative. I liken it to augmented reality, in that it will begin to be utilized as a form of entertainment but will have some very practical applications in the future. Think about printing a bolt that might be missing from a package or maybe a pair of sunglasses that fits just right.
