Endless Forms Web Site Helps Users "Breed" 3D Printable Objects

By DE Editors

Cornell University engineers are allowing anyone to point, click, collaborate and create online in the evolution of printable, three-dimensional objects. Its new, interactive website EndlessForms, allows users to design their own things -- from lamps and butterflies to furniture and faces -- without any technical knowledge and using the same principles that guide evolutionary biology.

The website was developed by Jeff Clune, Jason Yosinski, and Eugene Doan in the Creative Machines lab. EndlessForms users can develop objects similar to how gardeners raise roses. A “generation” of objects is displayed, and a user chooses objects they like, which are “bred” to produce the next generation. Over time, objects evolve and users can publish these objects. Other users can further evolve, share and rate them, creating a collaborative exploration of the designs. 

Once they are satisfied with the design, users can have their objects constructed by 3D printing companies in a range of materials, such as silver, steel, ceramic or sandstone. Users can also view the ancestral lineage of each object stretching back to the first, simple, randomly generated object, and thus can see how evolution builds complexity via a series of small changes.

EndlessForms developers liken the 3D printing industry to iPods with no music -- the printers exist, but the availability of content is bottlenecked by methods like CAD that few people know how to use. Their goal is to unshackle the design process, flooding the industry with objects that are truly one of a kind.

For more information, visit Cornell University and EndlessForms.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.