Top TechTop Tech #90: Three for 3D — output a building, scan a room, print your objects
Important innovations in science and technology, every day
By Paul Worthington
Friday’s Top Tech:
• 3D Printed Office Building
• Buildings scanned into 3D
• 3D printer in your home
3D Printed Office Building
And not just the walls as you might expect: a 20-foot tall 3D printer will output, layer by layer, an entire office, complete with furniture.
Other projects “utilize 3D printing for their exterior walls, as sort of a replacement for the use of concrete block or wood framing,” 3dprint.com reports. But WinSun Global’s plan calls for a 2,000 square foot structure that is all-but ready for employees to move in. It will use special reinforced concrete, fiber reinforced plastic, and glass fiber reinforced gypsum.
The project is starting now in Dubai. WinSun Global 3D printed a home last year in China.
Buildings scanned into 3D
3D modeling company Matterport secures $30 million in funding to advance its VR initiative.
So on the one hand we have building designs made on a computer turned into real-world structures thanks to large-scale 3D printing… and on the other, we have bigger faster scanning systems that will look at real-world buildings and generate 3D models for viewing on a computer.
Detailed and realistic immersive VR views of locations and structures aren’t new, but Matterport’s system may make such simulations far more quickly and at a lower cost than current solutions. This can lead to better online vacation planning, for example, and other business uses.
Now Qualcomm’s investment arm is betting on that idea, to the tune of a $30 million Series C funding.
Matterport says it will help consumers and businesses create accurate, photo-realistic 3D models, quickly, easily and automatically with its 3D camera. Also, its interactive viewing platform will let you see the models and indoor spaces from a web browser.
I first covered Matterport two years ago here.
Fortune details the new investment here.
Here’s more information from the company.
3D printer in your home
There were a lot of 3D output products at CES this year, but one of the more impressive ones I saw was New Matter’s —and it won Best In Show awards at the January tradeshow for its usability and design.
Now it’s shipping “for home enthusiasts and beginners.”
The design is more reliable than competing models, the company says, thanks to significantly reduced parts count, and a simpler way to move the print bed. The maximum object size is 6x4x5 inches. The printer is $399.
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