Disney Invents A Way To Auto-Create Phone Mounts That Hook On To Pretty Much Anything

Disney’s Research Hub is one of my favorite things on the Internet. Just about every time they release a new video, it’s something immediately understandable (in terms of its use cases) and yet deeply complex (in terms of the execution.)

Take this software they’ve just demonstrated: it lets the user create a 3D-printable mount to connect just about anything (your phone, a controller, a tea cup) to just about anything else (your desk, your car, a guitar.)

So why does this matter?

Because if 3D printing is ever going to matter to the general public, it needs to tackle two huge hurdles: it needs to do more than print mostly-useless plastic tchotchkes (think integrated electronics printing, a la the Voltera), and it needs to be far more accessible than it currently is. No one wants to learn how to use CAD/Blender/etc. just to use a 3D printer.

Something like this allows is the first step toward allowing Joe Clueless to say “Hey, I have this table and this phone. Make me a mount!” and have it just happen. No modeling needed, no digging through Thingiverse for a mount that may or may not actually work with your phone.

Or you could say “I have this tea cup and I want to mount it to my guitar. Why? DON’T ASK QUESTIONS, COMPUTER. JUST CREATE.” and bam: it’s called out from the ether like you’re some sort of plastic-extruding sorcerer.

Awesome.