Robotic 3D printer uses augmented reality to fabricate designs as they're created

Robotic assistants are one of the most enduring features when we envision our technological future. Whether they're Roombas sweeping the floor or chauffeurs in the form of self-driving cars, our collective image of the future is almost always accented by machinic helpers. Now, a team of scientists is building a robotic assistant, not necessarily to help around the home, but to fabricate 3D digital designs in real time. Dubbed the Robotic Modeling Assistant (RoMA), the system combines augmented reality (AR) with robotic modeling, allowing users to design primitive 3D models on one side of a platform while the robotic arm fabricates the object on the other. "One of the most exciting things about RoMA is the combination of AR with fast 3D printing, which makes it possible for the designer to not only receive the visual cue of their design, but also the fast, in-situ tangible feedback that otherwise couldn't be possible," Huaishu Peng, an information science doctoral student at Cornell University who helped create RoMa, told Digital Trends.