gizmag.com: Researchers at Disney Research Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University are experimenting with 3D printed optics using clear resin. Printed optics can create a variety of effects within 3D-printed objects, from focusing light within printed prisms to channeling light through honeycomb-like "light pipes," which give the effect of individually lit pixels.
16 comments:
This is absolutely insane! When I first read the teaser for this article, I thought it was just a joke or not to the level that they were trying to make me believe. But after devouring the article and watching the video in completely reverential awe, I am speechless. It legitimately looks like the kind of idea that a writer would come up with for some futuristic science fiction movie - but it's real! The 3D printer, though incredibly cool, has always seemed a bit showy and not very useful to me, but seeing the way it can be used so creatively to make objects that range from the everyday to the extraordinary leaves me wondering where this incredible breakthrough could possibly go next. It would seem that only the tip of the iceberg of possibilities has been scratched...
Every week I see the different advancements of this technology and every week it blows my mind! if the props department was able to print their props, projects could become more and more intricate. I really think that if any school were to be the first, it would be CMU.
There are different types of printers that I have heard of so far. The first being the printer that takes documents from Autocad or 3D Studio Max and has the printer create layers of thin plastic sheets that come up with the final objects. This printer is currently on the market, but its downside is that it is highly limited by the size of the object it can create and therefore many objects must be created in pieces, limiting the ability of any artist.
There is this huge push for tangible technology. And one of the biggest sci-fi dreams that I think people want to achieve is holograms. Light pipes can somewhat accomplish this. That is the goal of a lot of modern technology, especially in the theatre world today, is all about making things more prevalent in the show. For this particular piece of technology, I could see it being applied to make a different type of King Hamlet's Ghost, and things like that.
Well finally someone has figured out a good use for 3D printers! Toys! And light bulbs. The light pipes are pretty innovative, and could have some useful implications, more than just for entertainment. The 3D printer is nice because it does not require assembly and things are just printed, this will save on steps and time and could make necessary things almost immediately available. I guess this does kind of open up the 3D printer to more uses for theater, but I think that it will never be cost effective to have one in a theater.
Uh oh. I sense a star drop coming on. I wonder how this might influence projection on stage, or if it is possible to create large enough arrays of these "light tubes" to fabricate a new type of RP screen that can take its input from a single remote projector. Having struggled several times with the difficulties inherent in mounting projectors behind RP screens in close proximity, and the keystoning and general distortion that ensues, this projection tube array would be a great improvement. On another not, it must be some kind of universal irony that half of technological advancements come from toy development, and the other half from weapons development. Another exaggeration, I know, I'm full of them this week.
This is wonderful. I am so excited to see how people apply this technology in the future. I am specifically intrigued by the idea of light bulbs. Imagine if light bulbs came in different designs and shapes so that you were able to use them more efficiently in places. And it could be another way to express yourself. Express yourself through your light bulbs. I wish thought that it had rovided a bit more information on how the whole things works not just how the channels work
I agree with Zoe that it could never be cost effective for the theater. It would be interesting to see exactly what the expenses are for 3D printing. The only place i can see this type of technology being utilized is at theme parks or as toys in the future. Theme parks could utilize it because they have the budget for it. It would be interesting to see hoe they could use it.
ok, I'm not sure how bright (and therefore useful) those lightbulbs are, but they look awesome. I wonder how the 'light pipes' work, if they function like fiber optic cables. I just find it awesome that we're living in a world where we can create things like this.
This is very cool. I've seen some similar things done with optics at the Microsoft research lab, but there was a lot of new ideas here that I have not seen anywhere else. For example the idea of using a 3D printer to do optics has been around for a few years, but as far as I know this is the first time it has been done.
Although the toys with light up eyes are fun I think that it was only at the end of the video included in the article that the ideas really started to take off. For example using optics as buttons and other kinds of controls has large implications. One use of this that comes to mind is in video game controllers to reduce lag time with physical buttons.
I can't wait to see what this team does not with the tech.
This seems to be fictional its so fantastic. I might not understand the technology that goes behind makeing this work but i can see the endless possiblities using that this technology opens up. Its absolutly brilliant in my opinion.
It would be great to see this technology applied in a larger scale, yet because it is 3D printed, it might be very cost prohibitive to create these optics for anything larger than a small toy or game. This will no doubt be a boon for the toy and amusement industries, but it's application in theater would probably be very limited. Actually, I kind of feel like a little doll whose eyes moved is a really creepy toy. Kind of like what you see in a nightmare when a bunch of toys come to life.
What this is incredible!!! The technological advances here could have limitless applications, pending further development and refinement of the technology. I also thought it was cool because these objects have a magical aspect to them, something Disney is clearly known for. The light pipes and single light source are such a cool idea. As others have said, it probably wouldn't be practical to ever print something large enough and inexpensive enough to use in a theatrical setting, but we could certainly copy some of this new technology and use it in other ways. What a stunning development!
I'm pretty sure i've dreamed about this. My entire life I've wanted something that does this and now I've actually found out that this is a real thing. I couldn't get the video to work, so I don't know what I missed in that, but I'm wondering about the scale of things that can be printed. Depending on the size of the item, the 3D printer could be so useful for making props or even for making set pieces if the printer is big enough. The only thing that could possible make this even cooler is if there were a plug that fit right into the brain so we wouldn't even have to draw out the idea. But that'll probably never happen...
Science is so cool...
While working on projects with Jon Ward in my props mini, we discussed 3D printers and watched a few videos on it. I never thought that people were already discovering such great things that you can do with 3D printing such as adding sensors and lights. It is so cool to see just how our technology can be integrated with this type of printing and the advantages it has for us. While talking with Jon about 3D printing, I learned about all of the uses it would have for a theater, but what I loved about this video was how it showed how it can be used in other environments that I would've never thought of using it, such as children's toys or a chess board, and so many other things.
I have no doubt that with a combination of Carnegie Mellon University and Disney Research, nothing will be impossible. Just looking at this article, I am amazed by how much the level of technology can be developed further. I was speechless while watching the Youtube, showing all of the works that these little optics can do. Especially, I love how they focus on sensor of sound and touch. I am also surprised by how this little, technical optics are made by 3D printer. I love how every week, I read something fantastic thing that a 3D printer can create. I think if the researchers can develop these optics further in a way that people can benefit from using it, it will be much greater and useful.
This is pretty amazing use of technology.I am greatly intrigued to how far can you pipe the light? How many times can you turn the light before it dissipates?
On the video the sensors are amazing that is just really cool. I was blown away and then they showed the light bulbs that were incredible. I can seem them now on the shelves at Lowes artistic LED light bulbs. This could be another neat new adventure. I do wonder how much more efficent would these senors be then traditional electronic.
This is very interesting techonlogy but what are the benefits and uses and are they better then what we have been doing.
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