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Korean Startup USEED to Launch Voice Activated AI Driven 3D Printer for Kids

USEED is a Korean startup headed by Jung Soo Lim. The eight-person company got its start making 3D printer kits, and specializes in the education market. The firm makes robotics kits, Prusa i3 type 3D printers, its own Creator 3D printer, and even an SMT placement machine. The company designs, develops and manufactures its machines in Korea and has been expanding steadily. Now they aim to undertake a bit of a quantum leap. The firm has been designing and testing its Thingi for months now. The Thingi is one of the, if not the most, adorable 3D printers I’ve ever seen. Specially designed to be accessible, safe and easy to use for children, the Thingi is meant to let kids easily 3D print. The 125 x 140 x 190 build volume machine can print over WiFi, has a 260C capable extruder, and can print up to 60 mm/s. The printer has a new trick up its sleeve, however. The voice-activated AI-powered printer can listen to kids’ commands and prints accordingly. If the voice activation works well and the company can accordingly automate the entire printing workflow, it would make 3D printing much more accessible and easier. Potentially it would make 3D printing much easier for all of us as well. It was refreshing to finally see something innovative happening again in desktop 3D printing. The company is testing the printer now and aims to go to crowdfunding in a few months. We interviewed CEO Jung Soo Lim to find out more.

What is USEED?

Our company manufactures 3D printers and coding education kits for kids. We have 8 employees. Our company was founded to provide IT seeds that can be easily implemented if anyone has an idea.

Therefore, we are currently supplying educational 3D printers and related education services to Korean educational institutions. The big plan that our company has is to launch a voice driven AI printer. In Korea, 3D printing is not being popularized fast enough. We analyzed the of this causes through our experiences in selling technical products. There was pressure to learn 3D modeling in order to use 3D printers. Also, children between the ages of 5 and 10 want to use 3D printers. However, these purchases were not made because children had to use computers independently. With that background, our company developed the Thingi early last year and is currently preparing to mass-produce it. Also, to cover the costs of molds, we are looking for funds through crowdfunding platforms.

Our company will complete 3D printers and content that children can use for making their own toys. We hope to have is available this year at Christmas.

Why a voice-activated 3D printer? 

I want kids to have fun while using 3D printers to make the things that they want. If a child wants to make a Hello Kitty patterned cup, the kid talks to our 3Dprinter. The Thingi recommends the best model file and will then print it out. We will simplify this process so that children can use 3D printers in a fun way. I think that if many people enjoy and use our products, the limitations of technology will be overcome.

The post Korean Startup USEED to Launch Voice Activated AI Driven 3D Printer for Kids appeared first on 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing.

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XYZprinting Showcases da Vinci Color mini 3D Printer, Announces UK Launch of da Vinci Color AiO, at IFA 2018

[Image: XYZprinting via Twitter]

One of the oldest industrial exhibitions in Germany opened its doors to the public in Berlin on Friday as IFA 2018 began. Many additive manufacturing companies choose to showcase their latest products at this annual show – last year, for instance, Taiwan-based desktop 3D printer manufacturer XYZprinting introduced its da Vinci Color 3D printer.

[Image: Sarah Goehrke]

At this year’s show, the company will be introducing the consumer-oriented da Vinci Color mini, in addition to exhibiting its award-winning da Vinci Color AiO, which was officially introduced at CES 2018. But on the first day of IFA 2018, the company also announced the official UK launch of the AiO, which it calls the first voice-controlled, full-color FFF 3D printer in the world with an inbuilt engraver and 3D scanner.

“This latest innovation is a significant step forward for 3D printing, particularly for desktop users. Being able to control your printer with something as intuitive as simply speaking will open up 3D printing to a wider range of people,” said XYZprinting CEO Simon Shen.

“The AiO is aimed at those that have not used 3D printing a lot previously or not used it at all. Being able to tell the printer what you want it to do will make it simple to navigate, as well as letting you search from the XYZ 3D gallery. This means that if you would like to find a 3D model of a vase, you would just say ‘search for a vase for me’ and the 3D gallery would bring up all vases on the gallery to choose from.

“The added features of the printer, the scanner and the engraver, make the AiO the most complete desktop 3D printing unit ever developed, giving entrepreneurs and designers the chance to bring their ideas to life.”

The AiO, which stands for All in One, has certainly grown since its first iteration two years ago as the da Vinci 1.0 Pro 3-in-1. The handy desktop 3D printer, scanner, and engraver will give designers, educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs alike the ability to use intuitive voice commands to easily control the system. In addition to 3D scanning objects, users can 3D print full-color objects through the use of simple voice activation, and can later engrave those same prints as well.

[Image: Sarah Goehrke]

Actually, this last may not be true – the da Vinci 1.0 Pro 3-in-1 was only able to engrave objects made out of cardboard, leather, and wood, which the da Vinci Color AiO can’t actually 3D print. But, the old version had the laser engraver as an optional module, while the updated 3D printer features an inbuilt engraver, so maybe things have changed?

Regardless, the da Vinci Color AiO makes it easy for users to replicate and personalize designs with the built-in 3D scanner and engraver. It also features full-color 3D printing – the company’s 3D Color Jet technology mixes and sprays CYMK color droplets onto white PLA filament deposit layer by layer, “achieving full-colour spectrum accuracy and precision,” according to XYZprinting.

The desktop 3D printer also features a new EZ-removable print bed, with a 20 x 20 x 15 cm build volume that helps prints adhere to the bed while still being easy to remove from it. The print bed is also auto-leveling, so you never have to worry about the accuracy of your prints.

The coolest thing about the da Vinci Color AiO, at least in my opinion, is its voice control. My husband and I just purchased an Amazon Fire Stick, and I’m still tickled at my newfound ability to hold down the microphone button and say things like, “Alexa, go to Netflix” and “Alexa, add cereal to the grocery list.” Imagine how much cooler this feature is with a 3D printer: the da Vinci Color AiO allows users to calibrate the 3D printer, prep their print jobs, pause 3D printing, conduct maintenance on the system, and receive status updates on their prints, all with just their voice. This makes me feel like we’re one step closer to asking the computers on our spaceships to locate Commander Data…

XYZprinting is exhibiting at IFA 2018 through Wednesday, September 5th, in Hall 12, Stand 107 of the Berlin Exhibition Grounds at Messe Berlin. At the event, the company will be launching the da Vinci Color mini, a compact version of its original full-color 3D printer that’s designed for use at home and in schools and offices. The accessible mini 3D printer features an intuitive user experience, thanks to its 5″ color LCD display screen, and will retail for the recommended price of £1,599 beginning in December.

The da Vinci Color AiO will be available for purchase starting in September, for the recommended price of £2,699, through the company’s network of partner resellers.

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