News: 3D printer manufacturer Makerbot has opened a photo booth in its New York City store offering customers the chance to print out a model of their own face.
The Brooklyn-based firm worked with 3D imaging company ShapeShot to build a booth that captures the shape of the face and turns it into a file to be printed as a 3D portrait.
The scan costs $5 and customers then have the option to print out their face as a bust or as part of another item, with costs varying depending on the product.
MakerBot CEO and co-founder Bre Pettis told Dezeen last month that cheap 3D printers could shift manufacturing back to the home, as it was before the industrial revolution.
3D printing has been in the news frequently this year – we recently reported that the US military is investing in 3D printers for the frontline.
See all our stories about 3D printing »
Here's the press release from Makerbot:
MakerBot® Unveils 3D Photo Booth at the New MakerBot Store
Step into the future at the new MakerBot Store in New York and experience 3D printing like you never have before. MakerBot, the global leader in 3D printing technology, is celebrating the grand opening of its first retail outlet in the United States on November 20th with the unveiling of a MakerBot 3D Photo Booth, powered by ShapeShot® and MakerBot®.
MakerBot and ShapeShot have joined forces to provide a 3D Photo Booth experience for the 21st century – a chance to capture and create a 3D image, but not just any image, but a 3D portrait and replica of your face! In a few minutes, a scan is made of your face and displayed on a screen. Serious or funny expressions are immediately captured using ShapeShot’s 3D face data that can then be used to print out a 3D replica of your face! The 3D portrait is a cool souvenir, preserves your loved ones face forever, and is the perfect gift for birthdays, bar or bat mitzvahs, and holidays. Customers can also get a 3D bust of their baby, friends, and the whole family.
“We are super excited to offer our MakerBot Store customers the chance to be ‘immortalised’ by the 3D Photo Booth,” noted Bre Pettis, CEO and co-founder of MakerBot Industries. “We’ve been playing with this technology for awhile, and to finally be able to bring it directly to our customers is just awesome.”
This first fully automated MakerBot 3D Photo Booth was unveiled to the media and the public at a Grand Opening celebration at the MakerBot Store on November 20th.
Visitors to the MakerBot Store, located at 298 Mulberry Street in New York City, step inside the MakerBot 3D Photo Booth and for $5, have a 3D scan made of their face. They can then choose to have MakerBot make a bust or specific item for them made by MakerBot (costs vary depending on item), or take the design with them to modify and print on their own.
The MakerBot 3D Photo Booth, powered by ShapeShot and MakerBot, uses digital cameras to capture or scan the subject instantaneously in high-resolution data. The images are then combined to create an accurate three-dimensional model of the face, including textures. It’s a simple procedure – no makeup, no special preparations, just one scan and you now have your face in 3D! ShapeShot was created by Direct Dimensions, Inc., of Baltimore.
“This is beyond digital photography – it is the future -- and to be able to create a 3D image of yourself is just amazing,” noted Pettis. “We’ve had celebrities and musicians come in and get a 3D Portrait made. It’s fun, it’s inexpensive, and it’s totally cool.”
The MakerBot Store 298 Mulberry St. New York, NY 10012