Avi Reichental, CEO of 3D Systems spoke at TED recently talking about the coming 3D printing revolution where scanning-and-printing in ways never imagined will be an everyday act. A revolution that will allow all of us to create and manufacture clothing, objects and even custom tailored food in the comfort of our home. The presentation includes a tiny segment on Google's Project Ara, the block-styled smartphone that's in the works, which is only possible because of the development of high speed 3D printing. For the very first time project Ara will make functional, usable modules that will go into it a real moonshot product, powered by 3D printing. Our report presents you with this video which makes you wonder if this revolution will be a threat or opportunity. All of a sudden, Apple's acquisition of PrimeSense is seen in a whole new light.

One of the products available for 3D Systems is called the iSense 3D Scanner for the iPad.





A close up iSense as noted below reveals that it's very much like a miniature version of Microsoft's Kinect.





And what technology is behind Microsoft's Kinect? Yes, technology from Apple's newly acquired PrimeSense. In a December 2013 report on PrimeSense we pointed to a patent showing off a portable version of a Kinect-like device.

PrimeSense technology was also shown to be a part of Google's Project Tango, about bringing a 3D camera to a future smartphone. Could this type of camera be coming to future iDevices? Yes, of course.

One can only imagine what Apple has in store for PrimeSense's technology in the future. Yet when we see the TED presentation by Avi Reichental of 3D systems, especially in terms of Google's Project Ara, we understand that it has the potential of being a very disruptive technology for the technology sector and how smartphones could be made and sold. Even Microsoft has begun to file patents for a future 3D Printer.

Is it a technology that Apple is working on behind the scenes? Yes, more than likely and the good news is that the scanners needed for these 3D Printers can easily be made by Apple using PrimeSense technology. Apple has one the pioneering companies in this field working with them for future devices.

While the revolution is still a little ways off, the TED presentation and 3D Systems iSense scanner specifically, really shows us that PrimeSense technology holds a lot of potential for future Apple cameras and scanners that will play into this coming revolution.

While only time will tell how disruptive this technology will eventually be, my eyes were certainly opened viewing this TED presentation, especially in light of Google's Project Ara that will be using high speed 3D printing systems from 3D Systems to make their smartphone modules.

Could we ever see some kind of future iPhone for emerging markets come to light that would allow users to purchase a base iPhone and then purchase added Apple module recipes for upgrades? It's definitely an interesting mystery door, but only time will tell if such an idea would ever fly. In the shorter term, we're likely to see some kind of 3D scanner camera in the next couple of years from Apple as a stepping stone product towards the bigger revolution that's coming our way.

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