Even though a lot of new technologies are converging, none seem to be mixing quite as elegantly as 3D printing and AR. While companies such as Google and HTC have previously merged the two together before, Cornell University has come up with something truly special. The prestigious university is looking at real time collaborative 3D printing with input from humans and machine components.
RoMA, or Robotic Modelling Assistant, is a state of the art system that allows humans to work side by side with 3D printing tech. The designer controls the design aspect with their AR headset and the machine prints the output. What’s special in this case is that while the robot prints one part of the object, the user can resume working on other bits.
In this case, the actual print platform serves as a canvas for drawing the design and printing it out. The user can get the robot to design the frame of their object while working on completing it. They can also leave the printer to operate on its own and finish the object by leaving the printing area.
Augmented Reality Assisted Additive Manufacturing
This mode of working is useful for many reasons. It saves time and allow for concept and modelling to happen alongside creation. Another advantage is that you get a sense of what elements are working or which are impractical pretty quickly.
There are quite a few interesting features as it pertains to drawing methods as well. One is that users can use their hands as reference points for helping get the shape and size right. Similarly, the program also can use fingers to decide cross-section points. This style of drawing may be very intuitive than entering numbers on a computer.
As a starting point this is very good. However, the team have higher aspirations. They hope to implement this same technology on larger scales with bigger devices. They showcased their findings at Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018.