3D Selfies

Digital cameras and smartphones may have brought about the demise of photo booths and mall portrait studios, but a new trend is beginning to emerge that could redefine the family snapshot. Enter…3D scanning and printing.

There are currently at least four locations in New York City alone where you can walk in, step into a full-body scanning booth for a few minutes, and a few days later receive a miniaturized statuette of yourself. The figures are typically printed in full color using gypsum powder glued together with colored ink, but the technology lends itself to a variety of materials. For example, one supplier offers to reproduce your likeness in chocolate, at 99£ (about $150) for a box of six.

Retail chains are also getting a piece of the action. At select Walmart and Sam’s Club stores you can have your face (or your child’s face) scanned and placed on the body of one of three Marvel action heroes. And Staples is looking at getting into the business of providing personalized bride and groom wedding cake toppers to future-thinking bakeries.