
Protopiper: Physically Sketching Room-Sized Objects at Actual Scale - fisherjeff
http://hpi.de/baudisch/projects/protopiper.html
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modeless
You can do a very similar thing in virtual reality with TiltBrush. You don't
get a physical object at the end but you do have a lot more flexibility in the
structure and appearance, and, of course, the magical power of the undo
button. And maybe you _could_ get a physical object out with the help of a 3D
printer...

[http://tiltbrush.com](http://tiltbrush.com)

I believe 3D sketching and CAD will be the first popular non-game application
of virtual reality. 3D CAD with 2D I/O (mouse and flat monitor) has always
been a little too difficult for the masses. Virtual reality with natively 3D
input and output makes 3D CAD an order of magnitude easier and more fun. It
could give a real boost to the 3D printing market too, as once the masses
start doing CAD they're definitely going to want to print their creations.

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felixmar
I would prefer creating virtual objects for this kind of prototyping because
they do not produce plastic waste. I wonder if the protopiper device can be
used with biodegradable tape.

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Kliment
I see no reason it wouldn't work with paper tape, other than the hotwire
cutter which would have to be replaced with a blade.

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huuu
Very cool.

This reminds me of a talk by Brett Victor [1] "The Humane Representation of
Thought".

Brett thinks we are limiting ourselfs by expressing our thoughts in a mostly
2D scaled down domain.

This protopiper is a great example of what we will see in the future.

[1] [https://vimeo.com/115154289](https://vimeo.com/115154289)

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nkurz
Neat stuff. The ACM link is broken, and I missed the link to the detailed PDF
the first time I looked. Here it is in case you missed it too:
[http://hpi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachgebiete/baudisch/pro...](http://hpi.de/fileadmin/user_upload/fachgebiete/baudisch/projects/Protopiper/Protopiper_UIST2015.pdf)

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pidge
CW&T are experimenting with a handheld 3D PLA extruder gun (3Doodler on
steroids) right now -
[https://instagram.com/p/8eixCjRhGN/](https://instagram.com/p/8eixCjRhGN/)

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WhitneyLand
A comment below on practicality was down voted but I think it's a reasonable
question.

What's are the foreseeable applications of this?

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jschwartzi
I could use it to lay out my living room for the movers. Then they could see
the layout I want for each piece and then replace the layout with furniture as
it's unloaded. As I'm setting this up, I can get a sense of how each furniture
piece might fit in my space. On a smaller scale I could use it to place
objects where I was thinking of putting a new piece of furniture and then
spend a week living with the space carved out before I buy the piece.

If there were a smartphone app that took dimensions and then supplied assembly
instructions it would be golden.

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perceptron
ProtoPiper is an attempt to bring the human back to material interaction, like
in traditional craft practices. It is more than just a prototyping device. It
helps you think about materials, gravity and structures.

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ernestoharti
That's cool. Could that be applied in the construction industry somehow?

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theophrastus
I rather wondered the opposite direction: did someone come up with this after
watching a "continuous" house gutter installer? who are forming it off a flat
spool of sheet metal.
[https://www.google.com/search?q=house+gutter+machine+continu...](https://www.google.com/search?q=house+gutter+machine+continuous&tbm=isch)

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gopowerranger
I look at this and it reminds of drawings from the late 1800s of people doing
things with mechanical devices that we now use electronics for. It just seems
very contrived and impractical.

