By Julian Steinforth, Expedition PR
Brooklyn, August 26, 2014 – I was a little early for the Brooklyn Tech Meetup at Huge’s offices in Dumbo. So I had time to go to the waterfront and enjoy the view of the Manhattan skyline that gleamed in the sunset. With such a start I expected the Meetup to be a great event – and I was not disappointed. After a short pitch by Heatseek NYC, one of the Big Apps Competition winners, Maureen Coiro and Ben McCallum of the Brooklyn-based 3D – manufacturer MakerBot went on stage. Maureen began with an introduction about the company, and how 3D- printing will lead into the next industrial revolution. Creative minds only need a desktop computer, tablet, smartphone and a desktop 3D- printer to transform the way we do business. MakerBot is setting up an ecosystem for the 3D-Printer community. So far they have built an app that allows 3D-printer users to monitor and control the printing process and among their online community MakerBot thingiverse, pioneers are freely sharing their blueprints and 3-D models.
3D-printing can be applied in a variety of fields, starting from architects and designers, who 3D- print their models, over to educational institutions that e.g. multiply dissection kits for students or do other amazing projects. For example, the MacArthur Barr Middle School built their own racing cars for their CO2 Drag Race with the help of 3D-printing. And of course there is a consumer side. Consumer use 3D-printers to build bird houses, personalize phone cases, and create jewelry and toys, among others.
In the second part of the presentation Ben explained 3D- scanning. “The great thing about 3D-scanning is that you can take the real world and bring them to the digital one,” said Ben. He added that in times where drawing the line between our digital and analog identities becomes more and more difficult, 3D- scanning will be the future and a great opportunity.
In addition Ben gave an outlook on how the 3D-scanning technology can be used in the future, e.g. in the field of finger and hand tracking. The technology could enable gestural manipulation of the automotive or entertainment control in cars. Another example is 3D-modeling, where designers suffer from using the 2D mouse, but 3D-scanning could allow them to sculpture and model with gestures.
I am really excited to see where 3D- printing will be in ten to twenty years and what kind of innovation this next industrial revolution will bring.
If you are interested in the Brooklyn Tech scene, check out our blog post on “Brooklyn Tech events that you shouldn’t miss”