Any Star Trek fan is likely to be aware of the ‘replicator’, a device that is used to conjure objects from thin air, most famously a hot mug of Patrick Stewart’s Earl Grey tea. This fantasy is quickly becoming a reality; a new technology is in its genesis that is set to change not only the industries of manufacturing and design, but our everyday lives for better or for worse. We have seen a dramatic surge in 3D technology of late, and this is the next stage in the revolution. Forget the days of standing by a photocopier, idly examining your cuticles as it churns out sheet after sheet of flat, grey boredom. Enter the 3D printer. Low cost printing of objects from a digital file in three physical dimensions is not only already here, but it’s also getting cheaper.
The machines work most commonly in one of three ways: some use molten polymers to create objects layer-by-layer, useful for creating plastic prototypes of simple things quickly and cheaply. The second method uses ultraviolet light to solidify liquids, with varying dimensions formed by limiting which parts of the liquid are exposed to the light. The third method is known as ‘granular materials binding’, in which powdered solids are fused together with lasers.
Many are beginning to question one implication of this technology; for as long as we have had organised society, we have depended on physical goods to have inherent value – a cow could be traded with your neighbour for two sheep for example. But what if you discovered a way of making your own sheep at a lower cost? On the one hand, you would be able to keep the cow, but on the other you’d also put your neighbour out of business.
The solution of this problem is the same solution that is forecast to be necessary as a result of affordable 3D printing – the idea of intellectual property must apply to real-world objects – DRM (digital rights management) may soon be rivalled by PRM (physical rights management). In other words, your neighbour could own the blueprint of ‘sheep’, and making your own would become copyright infringement.
The most interesting aspect of this is found in remembering similar revolutions in other areas that technology has brought about. Take the music industry’s battle with the Internet as an example. It is difficult (but fun) to imagine the equivalent with physical objects – there could be a Napster-style black market in designs of chairs, robbing Ikea of hard-earned cash. ‘Indie’ designers may have a springboard for making their innovative new products cheaply available and accessible to many.
Our perception of physical objects is set to change in step with their changing availability. Much as you now wouldn’t buy four copies of a CD for four family members, but rather buy one and burn it, we might soon find ourselves buying one dinner plate, scanning it into our computer and making new ones whenever we need.
While the reality is further from making a hot mug of Earl Grey from thin air, and closer to replacing broken oven knobs, this is something to watch closely.