The international hall is likely one of the less well trafficked spots at CES, but the conflagration of primarily Asian country always tends to yield at least a few fascinating gems. This year, in amongst countless drones Hoverboard knockoff was a 3D printer from Former's Farm.
Honestly, I first stopped to look at the thing because I'd never seen a 3D printer that looked quite like the Picarv. The model eschews the industry standard box form factor for a long rectangle that looks a bit like a toaster oven when coupled with the larger viewing winodw. On the side is a box that houses the spool of PLA plastic.
It's actually a lovely piece of hardware. What's even more interesting however, is what the printer actually does, connecting with a smartphone app via WiFi for simple printing without the aid of CAD or other advanced 3D modeling tools. Instead, the software generates a 3D print from a 2D photo.
The effect is an interesting one - sort of what one would imagine a braille photo might look like with relief added to the flat picture. The app also offers a number of frames, so images can be made slightly fancier.
No exact word on availability, but the printer will likely hit the market this summer.
