3D Printable Videogame Models with Voxel Shell Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current 3D printing technologies struggle to capture and print dynamically generated or animated 3D models from videogames, as they often require complex geometries and physical laws that are not bound by conventional physics, making it difficult to create tangible mementos of in-game experiences.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize an entertainment device, such as a PlayStation 4, to capture and generate 3D printable models by supplementing in-game geometry with additional printer geometry and procedurally modifying voxel shells to ensure structural integrity and compatibility with 3D printing processes, allowing for the creation of stable and detailed physical models from videogame environments and characters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional 3D printing methods are used to capture dynamically generated videogame models, then the process requires complex geometries and physics calculations, but the resulting models lack structural integrity and stability for physical printing
Solution Approach 1:
The videogame model is segmented into a core geometry and a voxel shell. The core contains the original dynamic geometry while the voxel shell provides structural integrity. This segmentation allows the model to maintain both geometric accuracy and physical stability for 3D printing.
Solution Approach 2:
The core geometry is nested within the voxel shell structure. The original videogame model is placed inside a procedurally generated voxel-based outer shell that provides the structural integrity needed for physical printing, creating a nested configuration that combines both requirements.
2Stability of the object's composition
If supplementary printer geometry is added to ensure structural integrity, then the model becomes stable for printing, but the device complexity and development burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses procedural generation to automatically create the voxel shell and supplementary geometry based on the input videogame model. This self-service approach eliminates the need for manual modeling and reduces development burden, as the system generates the structural components autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
The system modifies geometric parameters procedurally to generate the voxel shell structure. By changing parameters such as voxel size, shell thickness, and structural density, the system automatically adapts the geometry to ensure structural integrity without increasing overall system complexity.
3Ease of manufacture
If procedural modification of voxel shells is performed to ensure printing compatibility, then the models become print-ready, but the processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The voxel shell is generated and structural modifications are performed in advance during the model preparation phase, before the actual 3D printing process. This preliminary action ensures that all structural integrity requirements are met before printing begins, avoiding delays during the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual geometry modification with automated procedural generation algorithms. This substitution of mechanical/manual processes with computational algorithms reduces processing time and computational resources by efficiently generating structurally sound models through rule-based procedures.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method of selecting an object from a videogame for 3D printing comprises the steps of periodically rendering a virtual environment of a videogame for display at a succession of points in time periodically recording information that enables a visual reconstruction of at least part of the rendered virtual environment at a succession of points in time periodically recording a predetermined set of values responsive to the state of at least part of the rendered virtual environment at a succession of points in time, the predetermined set of values enabling a model of a selected at least part of the rendered virtual environment to be generated that is configured for 3D printing; meanwhile a complimentary method of selecting an object from a videogame for 3D printing comprises the steps of reviewing one or more visual reconstructions of at least part of a rendered virtual environment of a videogame from respective points in time and selecting one associated with a specific point in time; selecting at least part of the visually reconstructed virtual environment at the specific point in time as the object to be 3D printed; retrieving a respective predetermined set of values defining a state of the selected at least part of the rendered virtual environment; and generating, responsive to the retrieved respective values, a model of the selected at least part of the rendered virtual environment that is configured for 3D printing.