Cupcake CNC

Operation: Stick Figure Army is a project funded by the Collaborative Research Experience for Undergraduates program (CREU) to explore the process of transforming 2D images into 3D representations using low-cost, open-source fabrication technologies. Currently, this process requires the use of expert tools (eg. complex computer aided design software), and therefore cannot be carried out by most instructional support personnel. We will engage in a human-centered design process to develop software for converting 2D images (as typically found in introductory computing textbooks) into models suitable for printing on an open-source 3D printer like the Cupcake CNC (http://www.makerbot.com/). The result of our work will be new open source tools for manipulating and converting 2D images into 3D models suitable for printing to support blind students of computing and other subjects.