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Name: Mary Branscombe
Bio: Internet commentator, developer (AOL), netizen
Area of Expertise: Author/Editor/Journalist
Topic: Technology
Headline: Objects on demand revolutionize production
Nutshell: 3D object printers and online objects will revolutionise small-scale manufacturing and enable home creations
Vision:The drivers for the Internet have been a mix of personal and commercial; multimedia and piracy continue to drive bandwidth demand.
As 3D printers and personal manufacturing technology improve, the next P2P networks will share not music or movies but 3D blueprints that you can print out.
Forward-thinking phone companies will release the model for clip-on covers and user sites will spring up to share design tips for getting a 3D image embossed into the cover. Meanwhile plumbers will have pro 3D printing setups in their van so they never have to go back for a part. Out-of-town malls will fade away as Ikea puts its catalogue online as 3D downloadable parts. Broken the case on your digital camera? You can either try scanning it in yourself or go to a scan shop that will image and replicate the part for you.
Professional artifacts will have more complex, intricate, harder-to-copy detailing similar to the anti-counterfeiting details on currency.
You won’t download coffee – just the designs for the coffee percolator and cup.
Date Submitted: January 11, 2005
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