Someone fused a 3D printer and a vacuum robot to create a mobile 3D printer that can print on almost any flat surface — including your floor

• MobiPrint robot autonomously prints designs directly onto floors
• Developed for accessibility, inspired by tactile markers for navigation
• Future plans include AI for larger, adaptable, on-site printing

Imagine a 3D printer that can print creations exactly where you need them. That’s the idea behind MobiPrint, a mobile 3D printing robot developed by Daniel Campos Zamora at the University of Washington.

This innovative device autonomously navigates a room, printing designs directly onto floors or other surfaces, offering “a new system that combines robotics and 3D printing that could actually go and print in the real world,” as Campos Zamora told IEEE Spectrum.

Unveiled at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, MobiPrint introduces a new level of flexibility to 3D printing. The system consists of a modified Prusa Mini+ 3D printer mounted on a Roborock S5 vacuum robot, using the open source software Valetudo to map its environment autonomously, allowing users to view and control its path locally without cloud dependency.

Park and print

Capable of printing on carpet, hardwood, and vinyl with dimensions up to 180 x 180 x 65 mm, MobiPrint has already been used to produce objects like pet food bowls, signage, and tactile markers, demonstrating its practical versatility.

The inspiration for MobiPrint came from accessibility needs. Campos Zamora’s lab is focused on creating tools to assist visually impaired users. “One of the things that really inspired this project was looking at the tactile surface indicators that help blind and low vision users find their way around a space,” he explained to IEEE Spectrum. By printing these indicators directly on-site, MobiPrint could make navigation easier in indoor spaces that frequently change.

Currently, MobiPrint operates in a “park and print” mode, requiring it to stay stationary while printing, limiting its ability to create larger designs. However, Campos Zamora envisions expanding its functionality to print larger, continuous objects, follow users to print accessibility markers along their path,…