3D Photo Booth is now for Real!

The latest craze in tech world is 3D. By the day, this technology is embedding into our lives, when just a few years ago, was the stuff of movies and imagination. In recent years, we saw the rise of the 3D printers, 3D televisions and 3D content (movies and other digital media). But apart from digital media, 3D has not quite gone mainstream yet.
That is until now. Some brilliant minds over at Omote 3D have developed the world’s first 3D photographic technique that can create actual three dimensional figurines of people. Think of them like tiny action figures of yourself that you can hang on your wall. How neat is that?

What technology do they use?

In order to create these 100% accurate figurines, down to the tiniest detail and color, they scan every inch on your body with laser scanners and compile the images inside a computer to create an accurate replica of the subject. The process is time consuming and it kind of brings back memories from the early days of photography when people had to stay still for quite a while for a simple photograph (in this case, a full body scan will take approximately 15 minutes).
The scans are processed by computers and when the 3D representation is complete, they are transferred to a 3D printer that actually prints the photo. After the printing is complete, the figurine undergoes a form of treatment and it is finally ready for delivery. As for the moment, there are three sizes that people can opt for: 10cm, 15cm and 20cm (in height), but the designers are confident that they will try to come up with other sizes in the future.

If you want to receive a tiny figurine of yourself, I’m sad to say that you will have wait until as late as February of 2013 for one, for the fact that they are completely booked at the moment. If you are restless to make a reservation, keep an eye on their website to see if a spot is open. By the way, their website is in Japanese, so better arm yourself with a translator.

How much will it cost?

If you were already drooling at the idea, know that this interesting service does not come cheap. The prices differ depending on the size of the 3D photo and on the number of people that it will contain. Here are the prices:

As you can see, the technology is quite expensive at the moment, but as with all newly developed technologies, the prices should drop soon. But, the result is well worth the large sum of money you put down, the figurines have great detail and they look awesome! We can hardly wait for this technology to pick up, and as creator of PARTY, the lab that came up with the idea, Masashi Kawamura related in an interview:

We have several uses in mind, but can’t tell you yet. Personally, I’d love to have a 3D model made of the Dalai Lama. I can see 3D scanning and 3D printing becoming cheaper and with even better resolution. Also, there should be more variations in size and materials in the future.

So, there you have it! The 3D photo booth, a thing that we have been dreaming of for many years has now become a reality!