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Totally Pozible

16/11/2014

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We are about half way through a crowdfunding campaign through Pozible at the moment, to batch a bunch of full colour 3D printed figurines out. Here's the link:

http://www.pozible.com/project/187928

Crowdfunding is the perfect thing for this, because this particular 3D printing process is more efficient if you are filling the build volume. It would take a similar amount of time to print ten as it would to print one. The process is called binder jetting. We go into the details of this (and many other 3D printing processes) in the workshop.

I'm not counting my chickens before they have hatched, but the campaign is looking pretty good at the moment. It's currently about $250 off hitting the three grand target and getting funded, with two weeks left to go. So with a little more awesome, a bunch of very hip, clever, interesting and supportive individuals will be getting 3D scanned, and then immortalised as a full colour mini figurine of themselves, very soon.
Could you help me spread the word? I'm hoping that we can blow past the funding target, of course, and it's the perfect time of year to organise that perfectly unique Christmas gift for staff, friends or family.

Please share this with anyone who you think might get a kick out of having a lifelike colour figurine of themselves (made by robots!)

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New Gallery Page

1/11/2014

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We've been busy lately, running the new MkI TRAC 3D Body Scanner at a number of events, from mini-maker fairs, to tech events to slammin' parties.  Now we are collecting them all into a gallery page for your edification and enjoyment.

Did I mention that we can be hired for events?

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Mk I at Melbourne Virtual Reality Meetup (#MVRM)

12/10/2014

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The Robots Are Coming popped up at #MVRM this week, and created 14 cybernetic avatars. @QCmelb 
You can also order 3D prints.
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View this Gallery in 3D
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Mk I TRAC Scanner appears at #SheMakes

8/10/2014

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The Robots Are Coming attended the inaugural #SheMakes conference for women makers, organised by Girl Geek Academy and hosted by Inspire9.  What a blast!  

The Mk I TRAC Scanner made an appearance, and at total of 27 people were immortalised virtually over the course of the day.

It will be a good target to see how many of my students at Preshil make it to #SheMakes 2015.  Currently 9 of my 22 students in the 3D Printing elective are girls, and there is a lot of enthusiasm among them.  Stay tuned!

April by The Robots Are Coming on Sketchfab

Cath by The Robots Are Coming on Sketchfab

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Marina by The Robots Are Coming on Sketchfab



Looking for your scan from the event?
Find it here!
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The Preshil Eagles Win at the Drags

16/9/2014

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Melbourne University recently hosted the 3D Printing Showcase, where 3D printing businesses from around Victoria come to show their wares.  The Robots Are Coming were there with our MkI TRAC Scanner, and we scanned over sixty people over the course of the two days.  It was the first public outing for the MKI TRAC Scanner, which performed remarkably well.

The highlight of the show was the drag racing competition; the inaugural Print-a-Car challenge, hosted by Quantum Victoria, which my 3D Printing students at Preshil Senior School entered and won!  As you can see in the video, the cars set a cracking pace on Quantum's F1 track.  Our car clocked just 0.702 of a second from start to finish, so even a moment's distraction could mean that spectators missed a race entirely.  The car had to be entirely 3D printed, except for the axles, which could be made of metal and lubricated.  It has the Preshil eagle emblazoned on each side of the bullet-shaped fuselage and three of the students in the team (whom we scanned) printed at the front, riding it to glory.  With another few days to prepare we could have made sure they has all their limbs.

Each car was powered by a small cannister of highly compressed nitrogen gas, which was released when a solenoid-operated spike pierced the end of it, thrusting the vehicle forward.  According to the guys at Quantum, the vehicles reach their top speed about a metre from the starting line and then simply coast the rest of the way to the finish.  The cars are attached to the track with nylon line, so, despite the huge amount of energy coming out of those cannisters, the whole affair is quite safe.  However, some people had to be persuaded not to put their hands on or near the track around drag time.  


Preshil are now the proud owners of a new UP Mini, which is sure to get a long-awaited and thorough hammering by the students. 

UPDATE:  3D Printing Today have published a video on the event that we feature in fairly heavily:

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Awesome!  Some of my scans at SVVR made imgur!

30/6/2014

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I travelled to the US to attend the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference & Expo 2014 back in May, and got roped into scanning a bunch of people there on day two of the conference.  It was actually a brilliant way to meet some of the most influential movers and shakers of the VR scene in the US.  

Reverend Kyle does the awesome Road To VR podcast, seen below wearing the purple shirt.  And Jesse beside him is one of the developers of VRChat, which is the application that is being depicted here.  Both are standing right in front of the table where we were set up.  
The VR community chats happen on Sunday afternoon, US Pacific time, which is somewhat inconveniently early on Monday morning Australian time.  

If you're interested in learning more about VR, come along to a meeting of AVRIA, the Australian Virtual Reality Industry Association:
https://www.facebook.com/VirtualRealityAustralia
http://www.meetup.com/Melbourne-Virtual-Reality/

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What Will The Economy Look Like When The Robots Take Your Job?

3/6/2014

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This article discusses a crucially important issue that we will have to come to grips with as robotic technology marches forwards ... the impact on human "work."  

From the intro:  


A future of automation could play out in many different ways--from a leisurely society where machines do the hard work for us, to a dystopia where the robots make us all bankrupt.


http://www.fastcoexist.com/3030837/futurist-forum/what-will-the-economy-look-like-when-the-robots-take-your-job


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3D Printed Virtual Reality Prototype Device

18/5/2014

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This is a bit of a special blog post.  This week I find myself in Mountain View, California, to attend the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Conference and Expo 2014.

Many people know (and many don't) that I'm nursing a well-honed obsession for virtual reality, and have been for many years.  I'm been working to solve one of the most significant engineering challenges in the field; that of virtual locomotion.  

The problem can be put simply.  How can you walk around in virtual reality without bumping into things in real life?

Well, if you want it to feel like normal walking, you are going to have to go to some trouble ... or, at least, I have on your behalf.

It's not completed yet by any means, but with the arrival of affordable 3D printing into my world the manifestation of the device into reality is getting increasingly close, and I can now much more easily communicate my design intent to people.  They say a picture tells 1,000 words.  Well a 3D print tells 1,000 pictures.

The Related Projects link has always been on my site here, pointing to this project for those who hunt for it, but here is the link directly: http://www.vrwalkerproject.com/

The image to the right shows the prototype of one of the shoe modules (sole facing upwards).  The green front section has been printed solid, which took the best part of 24 hours to print.  The blue parts are castors, fitted with standard bearings.

Big apologies for people who were hoping to receive 3D printed figurines of themselves this week.  Mailing them out will be the first order of business once I'm back on deck in Melbourne.





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Magazine Cover Amazingness

9/5/2014

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I have had the incredible honour of sitting for a portrait by the amazingly gifted and talented photographic artist, Mandarine Montgomery.  Her picture of me, blending with the machinery at the command centre of my dream-filled cyberpunk headquarters, has just hit the front page of The Working Pro magazine, published by the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, after winning a Gold Award at the 2013 Canon AIPP Professional Photography Awards and helping Mandy to take out Portrait Photographer of the Year, as well as winning Gold at the International Loupe Awards.  

Mandy shot the inside of my Solidoodle 2 3D printer and photoshopped a photo of me, looking brooding and intense, into the machine.  The amount of work that has gone into creating this image is just colossal.  I'm sure I don't even fully appreciate the extent of it, but I know it was a marathon of pixel tweaking.  

Those who have been to my workshop, and paid particular attention, might recognise the buckyball on the desk, which is one of my regular demo objects.  I've also made a necklace pendant from the triangular "Air" symbol that is on the display monitor in the shot.

I was actually at the AIPP awards when Mandy's image won gold and essentially sealed the deal on Portrait Photographer of the Year, which was terrifically exciting, but it just seems to keep on doing great things!

Click to open and use your scroll wheel to zoom in.
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Google acquires Boston Dynamics

3/5/2014

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There have been some interesting tech acquisitions in the news lately, and this is one of the more intriguing ones:  Google buys Boston Dynamics.  

Boston Dynamics have been mostly funded by DARPA contracts to build an array of bipedal and quadrupedal robots, mostly with an eye on military and emergency services applications.  One can't help but wonder how the acquisition fts in with Google's plans, and how it sits with their stated philosophy of "Don't be evil."  Let's hope it's a swords into ploughshares endeavour to make sure these things are used for the benefit of people and not against them, because these things look quite terrifying.  
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    Scott Phillips is a lawyer, designer and technologist, fascinated by the potential and the promise of 3D printing.

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