Android Printing: Towards On-Demand Android Development Employing Multi-Material 3-D Printer

In this paper, we propose the concept of Android Printing, which is printing a full android, including skin and mechanical components in a single run using a multi-material 3-D printer. Printing an android all at once both reduces assembly time and enables intricate designs with a high degrees of freedom. To prove this concept, we tested by actual printing an android. First, we printed the skin with multiple annular ridges to test skin deformation. By pulling the skin, we show that the state of deformation of the skin can be adjusted depending on the ridge structure. This result is essential in designing humanlike skin deformations. After that, we designed and fabricated a 3-D printed android head with 31 degrees of freedom. The skin and linkage mechanism were printed together before connecting them to a unit combining several electric motors. To confirm our concept’s feasibility, we created several motions with the android based on human facial movement data. In the future, android printing might enable people to use an android as their own avatar.