Sketch Your Furniture in the Air

justelite writes "Is it possible to let a first sketch become an object, to design directly onto space? The four FRONT members have developed a method to materialize free hand sketches."

Comments

Re:Sorry, but no

[SpinyNorman]

You don't need a holographic projection - much simpler would be to wear LCD goggles that display what you're sketching, either on it's own or overlaid on reality, combined with what other people in the same room are sketching.

Autodesk tried this in the 1980s.

[Animats]

This was the concept that propelled Autodesk into working on virtual reality in the 1980s. Drawing in 3D on a screen required (and still requires) a complex interface; gestures in 3D looked like a way to make it a freehand job.

Didn't work. Humans can't draw with any degree of precision in 3D free space. Clay sculpting works because of tactile feedback; it's not a pure eye/hand thing. And drawing in 3D free space gets really tiring within minutes. Technically, you can get the hardware and software to work. But it's too hard on the users.

So virtual reality CAD R&D was dropped.

Re:What kind of machine?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called Rapid Prototyping. I've seen two types: one, like in this article, uses a laser to solidify a plastic layer by layer. Others use a powder that is sprayed with glue then recovered with more powder, building up as you go. It works much in the same way an inkjet printer sprays ink on paper. As the wikipedia article says, "Rapid" is a relative term. That chair took SEVERAL hours.

h.

Re:What kind of machine?

[ArsonSmith]

It doesn't print metal, it prints a casting mold that you can pore metal directly into.