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MIT Innovation: 3D Printing and AI Design Enable Ordinary People to Create Practical Items

September 27, 2025 Applications 124

MIT's Stata Center (designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry in 2004) has become the core base for the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Research teams here are promoting the co-creation of practical items by humans and machines through a shared design language, rather than relying solely on traditional instructions, enabling ordinary people to participate in designing the future.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Stata Center

In CSAIL's Human-Computer Interaction Lab, Professor Stefanie Mueller leads a team that is changing the way we design. They have developed an AI tool that allows non-specialists to easily design 3D objects; you don't need to be an engineer to create personalized products.

The lab is filled with everyday objects: pill cases, phone stands, utensil holders. They look ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there's something special about them. These items have all been customized using the AI tool. For example, a utensil handle, originally plain metal, has been adorned with a flower pattern, yet it remains fully functional. A phone stand can be added with organic patterns or colorful decorations, yet it still securely holds the phone.

Researcher Jiaji Li says: "Previously, assistive device designs were all identical, lacking personality. Our goal is to allow users to design according to their own preferences, making items both aesthetically pleasing and more functional." Their tool, "Style2Fab," can intelligently identify which parts can be modified and which cannot—such as threads, hinges, or structural supports—ensuring the item's functionality remains unchanged after modification.

Human-Machine Collaboration
Researchers Faruqi and Li have an even bigger dream: to enable everyone to create together with AI. They envision that simply by describing the desired object in text (e.g., "a phone stand with flowers"), the AI can generate a 3D model and even predict the post-printing effect in advance.

"What used to take days for complex designs can now be done in minutes," Faruqi says, demonstrating a case where the AI tool completed in minutes work that would have previously taken a week. The system can also remember user preferences. Instructions like "this area needs to be soft" can be directly integrated into the design.

The lab holds even more surprises: 3D printed cable robots that can sway and grasp like tentacles; self-watering plant pots whose internal structure remains unchanged but whose exterior can be customized according to personal taste. The developers are also thinking outside the box, suggesting they want 3D printed objects to "crawl out of the machine like living things."

Design is No Longer Just for Designers
At CSAIL, design is no longer a separate task of software and hardware. The researchers are pursuing a "fluid design process," meaning the seamless integration of design, engineering, and material experimentation. Faruqi summarizes: "Manufacturing is not a枯燥枯燥 (dry/boring) process, but a conversation with the machine, telling it how you want to interact and finding solutions together. This isn't just human-machine collaboration; it's true teamwork." When ordinary people can use AI to design items that are both beautiful and practical, the true power of design is just beginning.