Yesterday MakerBot unveiled their next generation 3D printer, cleverly naming it the Replicator in a nod to the similar devices seen in Star Trek. But instead of instantly producing a piping hot cup of Earl Grey tea, the Replicator methodically turns 3D models into real-life plastic creations.
Portable devices might have replaced paper tickets, but holding up your smartphone to welcome home a loved one just doesn’t have the same emotional impact as a large banner that can now be printed on demand at Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport.
HP just spent millions (presumably, the exact figure isn’t out yet) on a German printing software company called Hiflex. At this point, I’m pretty sure HP has reliable intel that we’re just months away from a printing-based dystopian economy. Like Waterworld, but with toner.
When you shatter your kneecap, the surgeon may use an implanted scaffold to coax your bones to knit back together properly. But what happens to the scaffold once you’re healed? With this new system, the scaffold just melts away.
Bridging the gap between your smartphone and the morning paper, the Little Printer creates tiny digests culled from news sources, social networks and other subscriptions giving you something physical to read on your commute to work.
They’re never as cheap as online solutions, but there’s something to be said for the immediate gratification you get from automated kiosks. And now custom smartphone cases can be added to the list of things you can buy from a machine.
HP is all but done with webOS, rumoured to be in talks with potential buyers. However, a sale hasn’t happened yet because it’s still deluding itself into thinking people care about seeing a linux-based mobile OS on a printer.
When properly designed, explosives detection sensors are really expensive. But researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a cheap, ammonia-detecting sensor that can be manufactured with an inkjet printer and some paper.
