The idea of having a 3D printout of yourself can either be a scary thought, or something that could boost your self esteem. It all depends on what you think about yourself. ASDA Supermarkets in the UK are giving shoppers the opportunity to see what they look like in 3D.
For as little as £60, you can have yourself scanned and printed out in a matter of hours. The printout is an 8″ mini statue which will look almost identical to yourself.
The scanner and printers that they use are very technologically advanced. They can understand the contours of the body, and recognize over 6 million different colors. It will pick up on the details of your shoes, your wedding ring, and even belt buckle. The models are printed using ceramic fluid, and each figure takes approximately 8 hours to produce.
Back in October, ASDA rolled out the service as a trial run, to see how successful and attractive it would be for their customers. Since there was so much demand for the service, they have decided to roll it out on a more broad scale. This past Tuesday (January 28), ASDA started to bring this technology to individual stores on a rotating basis. Each day they plan to bring the scanners to 2 different stores. You can see the entire schedule here.
So what exactly could anyone want to do with a 3D model of themselves? One customer, Thomas Tucker from Cooperfield, Edinburgh had one made of himself after losing a substantial amount of weight.
Matthew Ewington, a 43 year old told us that he had one made so he could give it to his mother for her birthday.
“She is always asking for pictures of me, to hang on her bedroom mirror,” explained Ewington. “Now she has a complete replica of me, to hold and look at whenever she wants.”
Others have been using the service to show off sporting medals that they have won. Some are having themselves printed and plan to use the printouts as wedding cake toppers. Others are using them as replacements for family photographs. Some people just think it’s an all around fascinating idea.
“It’s just too neat to pass up,” said customer Maggie Thompson. “My kids are going to love playing with a mini statue of mommy.”
Check out the video, which shows the entire process below:
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