Apr. 6, 2015 | By Simon
Between the likes of recent films including Pacific Rim, Frank, Wall-E, Chappie and the soon-to-be-released Ex Machina, it seems as though filmmakers and robots have gone hand-in-hand. Of course, the concept of robots in film is nothing new; some of the earliest films featured robots as a part of their science fiction-based plots and even legions of cartoon shows have centered around robots including the Jetsons and Futurama.
But although many of these film concepts focus on robots being personal assistants, social experiments or villains, few have explored the concept of robots falling in love with their human counterparts.
In “Mayupo | A Robot Dreams of Apple Trees”, a Japanese film that is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, the concept of a robot as a female companion is what the entire movie is about - and thanks to 3D printing, the filmmakers were able to easily create their vision of a robot from the year 2060.
“Mayupo is a female robot that starts dreaming when she gets hit by electric current,” reads the film synopsis on the project’s Kickstarter page.
“She is a robot made from simple materials, but she starts developing her own consciousness.”
Designed by Japanese fashion director Yoshiki Hishinuma and printed with assistance from Japanese 3D printing service company Altech using a Stratasys Fortus 450mc 3D printer, the final assembly of Mayupo will be unveiled next week at the Salone del Mobile design exhibition in Milan, Italy.
Although the finished robot isn’t functional as it’s portrayed in the film, its design - both from a conceptual standpoint as well as having been fully-3d printed - are an interesting look at what the future of robotics might look like thanks to developments in 3D printing and the world’s growing fascination with robots as personal companions.
In addition to fashion director Yoshiki Hishinuma, the film also calls upon the talents of makeup director Rika Matsui and film director Yoshihito Sasaguchi to bring their vision of Mayupo to life.
The short film is expected to be about 10 minutes long and the film’s development team are seeking funding on Kickstarter to help raise funds for one “special scene” that they are expecting to be about 2 minutes long - or essentially ⅕ of the entire film. In order to help entice backers to help raise funds, the team has included a clip of the film on their Kickstarter page:
With four days left to contribute to the project, those who do have any number of reward options depending on how much they are willing to contribute. Among other rewards include HD digital downloads of the film, signed movie posters and T-shirts.
While there’s no word yet if the team will offer mini versions of Mayupo for users to create their own 3D printed robots, those interested can find out more by heading to the project’s website.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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