We particularly got a close-up look at several mammalian teeth and jawbones Bob and his students found during recent digs. His undergraduate assistant, Ashley, explained to us that patterns on the teeth could indicate everything from the animal’s diet down to its species. It’s her job to scan the teeth and jawbones and other objects using the scanner, a process that even at its fastest takes several hours. The scans can be saved as any number of image file types, including PDFs, which can then be manipulated on several dimensions.
The obvious value of 3D printing in that environment is to create scaled replicas of artifacts, like teeth, that can be increased in size, measured, handled by students, or sent to colleagues. In fact, Bob said, there is a certain amount of sharing among colleagues of 3D scans. In some aspects, it increases access to physical items in ways that molds and casts may not. This was one area of particular interest to him, the accuracy of such replicas. A potential research project would be to compare the accuracy and precision of different replicas (casts, 3D prints, 3D images) to the original by comparing measurements. This was an application, Bob said, where 3D technology may (dare I say it) surpass even the purity of the physical object, the ability for much more precise measurements of hard-to-measure surfaces.
I probably showed my ignorance, or idealism, when I asked whether 3D technology was incorporated into the Anthropology curriculum AT ALL. The answer, I’m told, is no. While Bob and his undergraduate assistants are becoming versed in the possibilities, the department itself has no formal or informal education on the subject. In a previous job as a newspaper reporter, I was accustomed to being at least 10 years behind such current trends, but I was definitely surprised that even in a field where there is such a direct application, the transition is relatively slow.
I can see both positive and negative aspects to this. While it’s a little disappointing that these awesome tools are not being totally taken advantage of (and yes, I understand budgetary and bureaucratic restraints), it’s also pretty neat to realize just what a positive force something like the Mobile Makerspace can be in educating others about what’s available.