Cheap Fast Eyeglasses from a Desktop Fabricator

purduephotog writes "Doctoral candidate Saul Griffith of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and inventor of the Lego powered chocolate printer was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventing a device that molds eyeglasses rapidly and cheaply. Best of all, he's motivated for the good of humanity."

In two years time ...

[Gil2796]

... Doctor Saul Griffith of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and inventor of the Lego powered chocolate printer and eyeglass moulder was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Doctoral Prize for inventing a device that cheaply and easily mouldes edible chocolate eyeglasses!

Does he do it...

[donnyspi]

..."in about an hour?"

BUT WILL IT INCREASE THE LENGTH OF MY PENIS?

[Anonymous Coward]

n/t

thank god

[WormholeFiend]

I was starting to go blind from looking at all the pron on the internet.

thanks to this man, I will now be able to see better, faster and cheaper!

Well...

[telstar]

I didn't see this one coming...

And so work began....

[youngerpants]

On machines building machines, obviously starting with the T-100 series

Doll face?

[Halloween Jack]

Griffith... imagines that mass-produced dolls could be individualized by giving each a discrete face.

Get the Real Doll [realdoll.com] [NSFW] people on the phone, stat!

Ah crap...

[HenryFjord]

The pr0n is out of focus again. Time to print off some new glasses.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Automatic vision testers! hooray!

[teamhasnoi]

I could have sworn one optometrist i went to a few years ago had a machine that automatcially brought an image into focus for me. Way cooler than this stone-age notion of looking at the eye chart as the "doctor" flips lenses. Which one is clearer, one or two. Why do we keep doing this stone age crap?

Are you sure you wern't abducted by aliens? Check the back of your neck for implants, and your ass for an antenna. Sure signs.

More power!

[Call Me Black Cloud]

inventor of the Lego powered chocolate printer

I skimmed the paper, searched for Lego, and as it turns out he's really not uses Legos to power his system. It's merely built out of Legos. I'm disappointed...I thought he developed some sort of fusion generator, a la Back to the Future. Add a flux capacitor and a DeLorean and then I'll really be impressed.

Re:BUT WILL IT INCREASE THE LENGTH OF MY PENIS?

[Brian Dennehy]

With the right lens, it will.

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[American AC in Paris]

I wonder how you're planning on getting the raw materials for all that, this isn't about turning straw into gold.

Well, shit. There go my plans for a straw-fueled desktop fabricator.

If only there were some cheap, readily available metal...or perhaps a resin of some kind that wouldn't force me to mortgage my mom's basement...hell, I'd even settle for some kind of plastic that I can get my hands on for less than fifty thousand dollars an ounce.

Think, dammit, think...

More Wishes!

[dewboy]

I want a desktop fabricator that can create a desktop fabricator.

Mmm.... Recursion...

Re:Fool

[Waffle Iron]

No, he's making the lenses for the benefit of humanity. For his own benefit, he'll be offering special UV, anti-glare and scratch-resistant coatings, custom tinting, a line of exclusive designer frames, a mantenence and checkup program, and a two-year comprehensive protection plan.

He would need to invent transparent chocolate firs

[Chemisor]

He would need to invent transparent chocolate first, and if that can not be a billion dollar business, then transparent aluminum most certainly will be.

Re:The real cost of glasses?

[Flyboy Connor]

Frames are fashionable. Their costs reflect their designer's "genius".

I know the average geek can't appreciate fashion. And rightly so. But we have to deal with it.

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[mchappee]

> Imagine downloading and printing a new bowl for your food processor, or a new toy for your kid.

Yeah, and imagine your child's disappointment when she can't have a new bike because there are no Linux drivers. :-)

Matthew

How long before...

[Zangief]

He is sued by the people who makes the eyeglasses today?

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[Anonymous Coward]

If we have support for them before anyone else does, that's yet another "killer app" for Linux.

I don't know if you're being serious, sarcastic, or what.
What was the first "Killer App" for Linux?

Re:No lack of scale and logistics

[jhoffoss]

Just ask any army that used to issue soldiers with glasses.

HA! Then we won't need to market safe sex or distribute condoms to the third world either, because the BCG's will take care of it. (Birth Control Glasses)

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[nharmon]

Imagine, too, the anguished hand-wringing of governments when the technology reaches a point where you can print parts for an AK-47.

When the printing of guns is outlawed, only outlaws will be able to print guns.

Imagine the price of the ink!

[littleghoti]

And you think printer cartridges are expensive now!

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[operagost]

We're talking Counter-Strike with live ammo!

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[poot_rootbeer]

Now, if we reach the point where John Q. Malcontent can download and print the various parts of an AK-47 in the comfort of his own studio apartment in a matter of hours...

Don't worry. Photoshop will pop up an error dialog if you try to print something it thinks is a weapon part.

Re:The Home-Insudtrial Revolution?

[xrayspx]

However, you ARE able to print her Unicycle. All the cool kids have regular schwinns, but her unicycle is built to a much higher quality spec. Somepeople say unicycle people are elitist, but I don't see it. It has a very steep learning curve, to be sure, but once you're proficient, you can have just as much fun as if you had a regular bike. People might look at you funny, but it's ok, because you're among a higher class of the Unicylerati.

Re:Better

[glorf]

For a second there I thought the F in FTA was the same F as in RTFA and I thought "Man, I know people don't read the articles, but open contempt?"