While many US museums, most notably the National Portrait Gallery, proudly display busts of past presidents of the nation, for the first time, these traditional sculptures will be joined by a 3D printed bust of the current President of the United States.
As part of the many activities undertaken at the First White House Maker Faire and the nation wide “Maker Day” a 3D printed bust and life mask of President Barack Obama were unveiled. The likeness is obvious, courtesy of accurate 3D scanning data collected by a Smithsonian-led team of 3D digital imaging specialists. Both pieces were on display at the White House Maker Faire, as part of the nation wide celebration of Americans who are using technology and tools to make new things and create new businesses. The “Made in America” brand is strengthening.
For the President’s 3D portraits, however, the Smithsonian experts scanned Mr Obama earlier in the year using two distinct 3D documentation processes. Subsequently, experts from the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies used their “Light Stage” face scanner to document the President’s face from ear to ear in high resolution. Then the Smithsonian team used handheld 3D scanners and traditional SLR cameras to record peripheral 3-D data to create an accurate bust.
The data captured was post-processed by 3D graphics experts at the software company Autodesk to create final high-resolution models and finally, the life mask and bust were 3D printed using 3D Systems’ Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) 3D printers.
The data and the 3D printed models are all set to become part of the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, which boasts multiple images of each president to date.
