The name of the app comes from the idea that people should be “makers” or creators. To this end, the app, which is only available for iPad, was designed with accessibility in mind, said Maker’s Empire CEO Jon Soong.
“Making 3D stuff has never been so easy – or so much fun,” Soong said. “Our cool and easy-to-use tablet app means 3D printing, previously confined to engineers, architects and other professionals with specialist technical knowledge, is now within the grasp of novices, technophobes and everyone in between. And without any understanding of CAD, they, too, can experience the magic that comes with seeing their creations come alive in 3D printing,” he continued.
To create the app, the Maker’s Empire team, which is made up of computer science and engineering grads, participated in ANZ Innovyz START accelerator, a program that helps businesses make their inventions profitable. They then partnered with 3D Printing Systems and three elementary schools in Adelaide, Australia to roll out a pilot program.
Soong said that the pilot program in the elementary schools allowed Maker’s Empire to refine its app and address needs that the team might not have necessarily foreseen.
“This allowed us to develop and evaluate our 3D design tablet app and lesson plans for 3D printing in a live, school teaching environment, to the point where our plans delivered cross-curricular learning outcomes aligned with the Australian National Curriculum,” he said.
Maker’s Empire’s launch at EDuTech, Australasia’s largest annual education technology conference and exhibition, is a strategic one because the team designed its 3D app with an eye to the future. They want to empower young people to be creative and get involved in science, technology, engineering and math, but they also want to get the app in classrooms across Australia and around the world.
“By combining the Maker’s Empire app with 3D Printing Systems’ range of printers, we’re providing schools with an incredibly easy solution to start the journey of integrating 3D printing in education and equipping future generations to succeed in the rapidly expanding digital age,” said Maker’s Empire Chief Technical Officer, Roland Peddie.
It’s only a matter of time before the majority of schools, both in the United States, as well as other developed nations begin adopting 3D printing as a means to compliment learning. Applications like Maker’s Empire are certainly catalysts for speeding up this adoption rate. Discuss this new design app in the Maker’s Empire forum thread at 3DPB.com.
