Being There

1
Being There
from rapid prototyping to dynamic physical
rendering
2
Imagine that you could

• Search dangerous disaster scenes
• Find and rescue victims in burning buildings
• Send medical teams into dangerous epidemics
• Replace astronauts on risky missions

• Without risk

3
Suppose that you could

• Design a concept car or plane in three dimensions
  using your hands

Welcome to the Claytronics Project. (2007).
Carnegie Mellon Claytronics Website. Retrieved
September 2, 2007 from http//www.cs.cmu.edu/clay
tronics/
4
Suppose that you could

• Attend a meeting in person across oceans and
  time zones without having to leave your office

Yen, Y. (May 2007). Forget nanotech. Think
claytronics. Business 2.0 Magazine. Vol. 8 No.
4. Pg. 33.
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Introduction

• Replicating technology here today
• Rapid prototyping
• Conceptual physical leap into the future
• 3D faxing
• Dynamic physical rendering

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Rapid prototyping

• Renders 3D objects
• CAD or animationmodeling software
• Prototyping machine(5000 - 1 million)
• Eliminates molds, dies and other tooling
• Enables surgical replacements in the body
• Joint replacements with exact replicas

Selective Laser Sintering (thermoplastics,
metals, powders)
(Blue Model Gadget) Redeye RPM A business unit
of Stratasys, Inc. (August 2007). Eye on Redeye
RPM Newsletter. (Selective Laser Sintering
Machine) Novac, S. The Rapid Prototyping
Homepage. Retrieved October 10, 2007 from
http//www.cc.utah.edu/asn8200/rapid.html.
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Rapid prototype printing

• 3D printing advantages
• Exact anatomic replicas to guide micro-surgery
• Eventually, tissue engineering and organ printing

Separation surgery of conjoined twins, Carlos and
Clarence Aguirre June 2004 Model photographs
from Medical Modeling LLC. Medical Modeling
provides advanced tactile imaging services to
surgeons and others around the world. They create
highly accurate physical models to allow medical
specialists the opportunity to see and touch what
they can otherwise only imagine.
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Morph-ologyand now for something completely
different
Hilston, J. (2007). Morph-ology. Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette.
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Morph-ology

• Pario technology from Carnegie Mellon
• Based on claytronic atoms (catoms)
• Programmable catom ensembles
• Synthetic reality

Yen, Y. (May 2007). Forget nanotech. Think
claytronics. Business 2.0 Magazine. Vol. 8 No.
4. Pg. 33.
10
3D Faxing
Catom Model
Pillai, P., Campbell, J., Kedia, G., Moudgal, S.,
and Sheth, K. (2006). A 3D fax machine based on
claytronics. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on
Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS).
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3D Faxing

• Millions of machines each smaller than a
  grain of sand
• Input from original object, CAD, or precision
  video/photography
• Object created in parallel not hours or days
• Available sometime in the next 10 years
• By 2029, the 3D fax machine will bring back
  the house call

Plummer, J. (October 2007). Sci-Fi reality
Carnegie Mellon University and Intel are at work
to create 3-D representations of people and
objects through the magic of claytronics. In
Pittsburgh Magazine.
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Dynamic Physical Rendering

• Pario conceptualizes dynamic physical rendering
  of humans with claytronics
• Audio replicates sound
• Video replicates life action
• Physical artifacts with such high fidelity that
  our senses will easily accept the reproduction as
  the original1
• Actuation and motion are the critical path issues

1Templeton, David. (November 1, 2006). CMU, Intel
see fantasy as the future. Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette.
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Dynamic Physical Rendering

• Constitutes disruptive technology
• Unforeseen impacts not only possible, but likely
• Privacy/security become issues like never before
• Potential to fundamentally change human
  interaction

Image retrieved 11/2/07 from www.thepowerhour.com/
images/9-11_thermite1.jpg
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Conclusions

• Rapid Prototyping
• Available now
• Lowers costs and speeds up productivity in
  manufacturing
• Contributes to advanced surgical applications
• Tissue engineering and organ printing under
  development

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Conclusions

• 3D Printing with Catoms
• Under development projected availability in 10
  years
• Quantum leap for research/design
• Revolutionary speed, cost savings, potential
  applications
• Further development will lead to return of the
  house call

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Conclusions

• Dynamic Physical Rendering
• Brave New World by 2029
• Business meetings on the other side of the world
  without leaving your office
• Risk-free hazardous duty, disaster rescues, and
  medical care during dangerous epidemics
• Surgical interventions where the synthetic
  surgical team works inside the patient
• Synthetic astronauts exploring any planet a space
  flight can reach

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Being There
from rapid prototyping to dynamic physical
rendering
Karen Summers-Murray C.T. Bauer College of
Business UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON Houston, Texas
77204-6021 Tel [phone] Fax
713.743.4940 Email ksummers-murray_at_uh.edu
Questions?