3-D Printer Allows Blind People To 'See' Touchable 'Photos' (VIDEO)

A Spain-based ad company named Lola may have added the element that is needed for 3D printers to catch on: the human element.

A project called "Touchable Memories" used Pirate 3D's printer to create 3-D "photographs" for people who have lost their eyesight.

"We realized that most people were not interested in purchasing a 3-D printer for their homes because they didn't know what use they could give to the technology," project lead Fred Bosch told Fast Company. "We purposefully focused on creating an experience that could only be made possible by 3-D printing."

"There were very long silences while we saw emotions wash over their faces as if they were being transported in time, but Daniela was perhaps who stands out the most," Bosch told Fast Company. "She chose a memory that not only brought her back to her childhood and the ski holiday she spent with her family, but also reminded her of intimate details that she had forgotten, like the wool cap she was wearing at the time and the crunch of the snow beneath her boots.

"She even joked that the experience must have been similar to what the first person that saw himself in a photograph felt."

Pirate 3D calls the Buccaneer "the friendliest 3D printer" because of easy applications, smoother filaments for hours of jam-free printing and no wires to tangle you up.

Printers that create 3-D objects can be used for school projects or to create custom address numbers for your house, according to MakerBot, a 3-D printer manufacturer.

One day, you might be able to fix your coffeemaker in a pinch by "printing" a broken plastic part or create a custom cell phone cover from biodegradable filament.