3D Systems has acquired My Robot Nation, technology which provides a game-like experience for creating content that can be 3D printed.
While the initial use case is pure entertainment -- allowing people to design and create their own colorful robot toys -- the My Robot Nation site's mission is really all about giving people with no experience or knowledge of 3D CAD tools the ability to easily create their own designs that can be output by 3D printers or 3D printing services.
The content creation piece is one of the primary bottlenecks standing in the way of widespread 3D printer adoption, My Robot Nation officials will tell you. Despite the influx of more reasonably priced 3D printer hardware, they said the reality is that people need to be fluent in complex CAD software in order to design the 3D models they aim to output.
My Robot Nation’s proprietary, browser-based platform lets average consumers quickly and easily personalize an object in 3D, then order their unique creation as a full-color 3D print delivered to their door. (Source: My Robot Nation)
My Robot Nation initially hooked up in a partnership with ZCorp, but ZCorp was acquired by 3D Systems last November in perhaps the biggest deal in its prolific string of acquisitions. Now, with its latest acquisition of My Robot Nation, 3D Systems is adding to an already impressive portfolio of end-user-oriented 3D printing technology, including Cubify.com, an online community and content site, and the Cube, a $1,299 personal 3D printer for the home market.
In fact, 3D Systems officials said they expect to integrate the My Robot Nation platform and experience into Cubify.com, the goal being to enhance the site with hundreds of new, easy 3D creation and printing capabilities, in addition to merging the growing developer community. Mark Danks and Sarah Stocker, the developers of My Robot Nation and experienced game industry veterans, will join the 3D Systems team as a result of the acquisition -- a move 3D Systems is touting as a conduit for enhancing Cubify.com with even more consumer-friendly and engaging technology, including play spaces, social capabilities, and game-like user interfaces.
And instead of having to leverage 3D printing services to output your My Robot Nation creation, the tight integration between the content creation piece and the Cube low-cost printer could be a compelling enough bundle to entice buyers to finally bring 3D printing technology into the home.
That seems to be how 3D Systems' President and CEO Abe Reichental is positioning the My Robot Nation technology. He called the technology a "disruptive capability" that would make the firm's Cubify platform more appealing to new users, "including kids from the ages of 8 to 80."
"We believe that this investment will accelerate the gamification and democratization of the entire Cubify experience and at the same time, facilitate our expansion into 3D hosting, publishing and the production of licensed content for other global consumer brands," he said, in a press release.
@CadmanLT: My guess is that the consumer-oriented printing services may not be as precise as some of the manufacturing-oriented print services like RedEye and others. I could be wrong, but I would imagine those manufacturing hardcore parts would have some real questions.
Yes, I think you're right, Ann, about ti being harder to go from Mac to PC than the reverse. I has surprised me to see friends recently have trouble with Apple. This includes the iPhone and the iPad. I still find Apple fairly easy. I thought the Blackberry was way more difficult than the iPhone.
I'm still on a PPC, although it's UNIX-based OSX, and that's not as intuitive as the proprietary System 9 and previous generations, either in the OS or in Word. The few times I've tried to use my husband's Intel OSX it's been a lot worse. OTOH, switching from either platform to the other requires a lot of adjustment, although it's apparently a lot worse from Mac to PC than the reverse.
Do you still find that Apple is more intuitive? I have a handful of friends who switched over tro Apple during the past year. They were having a hard time adjusting.
The graphics and publishing programs on PCs are still not good enough, AFAIK, all publishing art departments use Macs. Re editorial, I think the main reason was cost. As a writer, Mac is just plain easier and more intuitive to use, even after the switch to Intel and OSX (although much less so than on the PPC platform).
Yes, I spent a period where I was Mac as well. But then I started getting issued PCs. The reason editorial works with PC is becasue they're less expensive, and if you're primary use is Word and the Internet, the PCs are good enough. As for art, for years they insisted on Mac because the graphis and publishing programs that worked on PCs were not adequate to the job.
That divide between PCs for editors and Macs for art continued for a long time. I always wondered why, since the Mac is much preferred by nearly all other writers I've known. I was the only editor admittedly writing on a Mac for a long time.
@cadmanLT: Actually, I think they've come a way in terms of offering alternative kinds of materials other than the plastics. Some of the 3D printing services like Shapeways specialize in metal material choices--they're big in for consumer-oriented innovators like jewelry makers.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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