Researchers are developing a unique way to print fabrications directly onto your body.
Developed by Autodesk Research with Carnegie Mellon University, the new technique allows you to print 3D designs directly onto your skin with ease.
The process is really simple. You first draw the design onto your body using Tactum, a system that captures your gestures using a Microsoft Kinect and a depth camera. Using Tactum allows you to project a design onto your body like so:
Once you have the digital canvas of your design, you trace over the projection with ExoSkin. ExoSkin prints your design with skin-safe clay and dries in minutes:
The two-part system could be used to make custom jewelry, fitness trackers, smart eyewear, and medical devices like braces and casts, the researchers wrote in their paper.
The researchers wrote that participants with and without experience in 3D modeling were happy with the system, but that it's still in the research phase. We may not be seeing it anytime soon, but it hints at how 3D modeling and printing could get that much easier.
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