Shapies: These Selfies are in Another Dimension

Not only was 3D printing popular in 2014, so too was the “selfie.” So, what do you get when you combine selfies with 3D printing? The answer is “Shapies.”

Artec Group, a company that develops and sells 3D scanners, might have just found a better way to take pictures in a photo booth.

Rather than leaving with a strip of pictures, a person will leave the Shapify booth with a 3D-printed model of themselves.

In only 12 seconds, the Shapify booth will create a scanned and detailed 3D model of the customer, which is known as the Shapie.

Let’s get a better look at how the Shapify booth works!

First, a person would step into the Shapify booth and four high-resolution scanners would rotate around them, which would then detail their figure so much that even the most intricate of features, like the wrinkles on their face, would be seen.

Next, Artec would use their advanced algorithms to stitch together 700 surfaces. Once this is done, a file is then created that’s used to 3D print a figurine.

The goal of the Shapie is to act in the same way as the traditional photo booth, except that the 3D-printed figurine, rather than a strip of photos, would be used to commemorate the memory.

Artec Group has already seen people capture their pregnancy as well as create wedding cake toppers with their Shapie.

Through their invention of the Shapify booth, it looks like the Artec Group might have just reinvented the photo booth!

In short, the company believes that the possibilities with Shapies are endless.

As the Shapie is slowly on the rise, you could very well see Shapify booths in places like theme parks, Walmart stores, and retail stores among other places, in the near future.

Take a look at this clip to see this invention in action!