The possibilities of 3D printing technology are huge, with some printers already being used to create guns, musical instruments and in some cases even entire rooms! One particular artist, Gilles Azzaro has found a unique purpose for 3D printers, which is to create a three-dimensional render of a person’s voice. This was done for Obama’s state of the union speech which provides a visual representation of Obama’s vocal tone, meaning you don’t just hear him talk, you can actually see it.

Initially, Azzaro had created programming software that could digitally reconstruct a person’s voice into a three-dimensional image (which he then patented); however he did not have the right tools to produce this digital content in a physical form. Converting the voice clip into a three-dimensional image took his software just over 5 hours.

This is where 3D printing technology solved his problem and allowed him to create a 1.5m voice sculpture weighing 6kg, which took around 350 hours to complete. Ironically, Obama’s speech used for the basis of this piece of art was on how 3D printing could potentially revolutionize the way things are made.

The 39-second clip shows the viewer which part of Obama’s speech they are listening to as a laser light passes above the sculpture. Azzaro has also created voice sculptures for the likes of Albert Einstein, Mahatma Ghandi, Neil Armstrong, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and many more.

What do you think would be a suitable item to replicate with 3D printing technology?