Mickey Mouse. Bambi. Pirates of the Caribbean. Buzz Light Year. Over the years Disney has created characters and developed worlds that capture our imagination. Now they may be setting their sights on taking over reality too. That’s because they have developed a new printing technique that turns any object into a speaker. Meaning that we could soon be on the verge of having our candle stick holders and toys come to life. Sound familiar?
As Fast Company writes, “What if every object in your life could talk? A door handle warns you when someone has attempted to enter without a key. A desk ticks off your appointments when you sit down. A rubber duckie quacks at a child in the tub, then his pillow sings him a lullaby to sleep.”
As far as I’m concerned it would be awesome if such a scenario was actually possible. Just imagine how great it would be to be a kid and to have a G.I. Joe action figure that could speak battlefield commands or a bunch of stuffed animals that could actually talk to you while you pretend to have a tea party. There are plenty of practical applications for adults too as a coffee mug could read out news headlines or a TV remote could alert you to when a show is about to start.
So how does it work? Again I rely on Fast Company for an explanation:
“Basically, you print out an object. You snake a wire through it, carrying an electrical impulse of sound. Then you cover the object in electrodes, charging its skin with the potential to create sound.
If you touched the object in this unfinished state, you’d technically touch electricity, and you wouldn’t hear anything. But then, an insulating layer is added around the electrode, and then the entire speaker is finished with an outer skin that will vibrate to create sound. Technically this outer skin is 100% diaphragm–the same technology that shakes sound from your speakers. (In the past, Disney Research played with a similar idea to transmit sound through human touch.)”
Unfortunately, there is some assembly required with this process so it’s not yet ready for prime time. However, if we can one day get to the point where a standard 3-D printer could handle this type of assignment then we’d be in business. Let’s hope that’s the case one day soon because I have a very long list of things that are in desperate need of a makeover starting with the Bob Marley coaster that my drink is currently sitting on that will one day actually play Bob Marley songs!
In the future will you be able to 3-D print a Rubber Duckie that talks? Is this the Greatest Idea Ever?
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