Now
that 3-D printers are coming down in price, it won’t be long before we all have one
at home ready to print. But what would we want to print?
The
guys at MIT have suggestions. They think that we’ll want to print our own robots
with customizable bits and pieces. The National Science Foundation has been
listening to them and has chipped in with a nice little check for $10M as a
start to democratizing automation (1).
I
presume the plan is to purchase a core unit and print lots of plug in bits so
that your personalized robot can tend your houseplants, or mix your drinks, or
if you’re adventurous, bath the dog. But this nirvana is still a way off.
However,
coming in a store near you at the end of this month is a unit that will gladden
the hearts of many, and, if current medical research is reliable, have some
health benefits too. The first 3-D chocolate printer is to be available (2).
Clearly a must have for party-people and people with children of any age.
Unfortunately
they missed the Easter rush so personalized chocolate Easter eggs will have to
wait until next year. We will be able to print chocolate fortune cookies and
pop our own pithy fortune notes inside as we’re printing though.
MIT
has also developed a prototype, but I haven’t spotted any marketing announcement
as yet.
