3D printing action figures directly from animation software

Computer scientists from Harvard University have created new software that allows animators to print any 3D animation as an articulated action figure with just the click of a mouse. Moritz Bächer, lead author, explains that creating the software was a challenge because in animation, the characters don’t have to meet the demands of the physical world, they only have to convince the eye. To bridge this gap between the digital and physical worlds, the software performs two core steps: first, it identifies the digital character’s joint locations, optimizing their size and position for the physical world. Second, it analyzes characters’ digital “texture” to create synonymous tangible textures. While current 3D printer limitations result in crude figures, Bächer muses that, “perhaps in the future someone will invent a 3D printer that prints the body and the electronics in one piece, then you could create the animated character at the push of a button and have it run around on your desk.