Some of the parts for this tiny little remote controlled helicopter we’re printed out. That’s right, printed out. Shapeways member buho29 (I think his name is Jose Alonso can’t find his website) used a 3d printer to print the parts! Toy manufacturers take note…

[Shapeways | via Bruce Sterling]

[Shapeways | via Jamais Cascio]

“Adrian (left) and Vik (right) with a parent RepRap machine, made on a conventional rapid prototyper, and the first complete working child RepRap machine, made by the RepRap on the left. The child machine made its first successful grandchild part at 14:00 hours UTC on 29 May 2008 at Bath University in the UK, a few minutes after it was assembled.”

[Blog Post | RepRap]

Here is a robot that can re assemble itself:

What happens when these two technologies are combined?

More on the reprap:

(download this video 179 MB)

[RepRap | Adrian Bowyer @ Poptech]

“Based in the Waitakeres, in West Auckland, software developer and artist Vik Olliver is part of a team developing an open-source, self-copying 3D printer. The RepRap (Replicating Rapid-prototyper) printer can replicate and update itself. It can print its own parts, including updates, says Olliver, who is one of the core members of the RepRap team.”

[ continue reader @ Computer World | RepRap]

MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld talks about his Fab Lab — a low-cost lab that lets people build things they need using digital and analog tools. It’s a simple idea with powerful results: His Fab Labs, set up in communities around the world, let people build eyeglass frames, toys, computer parts – anything they need and can imagine. As Gershenfeld explains, this kind of empowerment leads to education, to problem-solving, to job creation and then to invention, in a truly creative process.

[ted video | Neil Gershenfeld]