Most 3D-printed objects currently come in a variety of exciting monochromatic colors. You've got red, white, blue and, if you're really lucky, a mix of two colors. And while the objects may have a great deal of detail, the surface will be bland.
現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)3D打印成品都是各種各樣的單色。有紅的，白的，藍(lán)的，如果運氣好，還有雙色的。雖然成品能體現(xiàn)各種各樣的細(xì)節(jié)，但是表面仍然沒有做到栩栩如生。

Now, researchers have found a way to precisely affix complex coloring to objects, making them look somewhat photo-real (and perhaps a bit creepy).
現(xiàn)在，研究者們找到了一種可以對打印成品精準(zhǔn)上色的方法。這種方法能夠使得上色對象看起來活靈活現(xiàn)（也許看起來還有點毛骨悚然）。

The method, developed by a pair of teams at Zhejiang University and Columbia University, is called computational hydrographic printing. Hydrographic printing is not new; mass manufacturers use it to add repeating patterns to cheaply manufactured objects. It involves a vat of water and thin, pre-printed film, which is sprayed with a softening agent. The object is lowered into water and presses against the film, which stretches to wrap itself around every contour of the object. When the object is removed, it looks as if the pattern was part of the 3D-printing process.
這項技術(shù)由浙江大學(xué)和哥倫比亞大學(xué)的研究小組開發(fā)，稱為“計算機(jī)水紋印刷”。水紋印刷并非是一項新技術(shù)。已經(jīng)有許多制造商利用水紋印刷對廉價成品進(jìn)行重復(fù)花紋的上色。整個過程需要在水槽中完成，上面有預(yù)制好的膠片，膠片上面噴印了一層柔軟的試劑。需要著色的物體之后慢慢浸入水中，對著膠片按壓，使得膠片能夠完全包裹物體。

According to researchers, it's nearly impossible to precisely match the object with the film, hence why they usually use repeating patterns — so no one would notice if anything is out of alignment.
研究者表示，膠片要和待著色物體完全吻合是不太可能的，這也是制造商都使用重復(fù)花紋的原因——這樣如果有什么地方?jīng)]合上，也沒人會發(fā)現(xiàn)。

The researchers realized that if they could use the 3D scan of the original object and pre-dip it into a simulated bucket of water and thin-printed film, they could figure out how to position and align more complex prints with objects. However, that simulation can't be run without first using a modified hydrographic printing rig, which is comprised of a vertical, motorized aluminum arm and gripper that moves up and down at 5mm per second, along with a Microsoft Kinect 3D image mapping device.
研究者認(rèn)識到，如果能獲取原始對象的3D掃描件，然后事先浸入一個模擬的水箱和薄型膠片，那么他們便可以知道如何把復(fù)雜的圖案貼合物體。但是，這種模擬如果不改良現(xiàn)有的水紋打印裝置，是無法運行的。改良后的水紋打印裝置的構(gòu)成是這樣的：有一只垂直的鋁制電動臂，還要有一個每秒上下活動5毫米的爪子，同事還要搭配Microsoft Kinect 3D成像設(shè)備。

The Kinect's role is crucial. Once researchers have put the object in the gripper, it measures its exact position and orientation in relation to where the 3D film will be placed. It's not until that information has been collected that the researchers can print the film on a standard inkjet printer, which will then include the necessary image deformations and account for the image stretch that will occur during the dip — ones that will make the final melded object look just right.
Kinect的角色至關(guān)重要。當(dāng)研究者把掃描對象放在爪子中，根據(jù)三維膠片的位置，裝置就可以測量掃描對象的確切位置和方向。直到信息搜集完畢，研究者才能把膠片放在一個標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的噴墨打印機(jī)上，用以處理圖像變形以供在浸入時的圖像拉伸。

In a video announcing the breakthrough, the Zhejiang University and Columbia University teams show off a printed tiger mask, zebra, single dip-globe and a 3D-printed cat. For the cat, the team performed three dips to wrap the initially monochrome kitten in a photo-realistic skin. The result has that uncanny valley problem of looking almost real, but not quite.
在一段宣布這項突破的視頻中，浙江大學(xué)和哥倫比亞的研究團(tuán)隊展示了老虎面具，斑馬，貓等成品。關(guān)于這只貓，研究團(tuán)隊演示了三次浸入的方法，把原來單色的小貓包裹上了極具真實感的皮膚。最終的效果看起來可以亂真，但是并不完美。

There are some limitations. Researchers note that they cannot easily cover objects featuring highly concave surfaces or any surface that might be hidden from view or scanning. Color blending and precision is also a bit of a challenge, and when the film stretches out significantly, some color can become lighter than the original color.
當(dāng)然也存在一些局限，研究者表示，他們不能很輕易給有巨大凹面或者掃描不到的地方著色。顏色的混合和精度也是一項挑戰(zhàn)，當(dāng)膠片被拉伸過度的時候，有一些顏色也要比原色更淺一些。

Even with those limitations, this relatively simple method for adding complex patterns and photo-real imagery to monochromatic 3D-printed objects shows promise. One can imagine someone scanning and printing a lifelike 3D model of a person's head, then using a high-res photograph to print out a face and sides, top and back of the head. Multiple computationally guided dips would then create a truly scary bust.
盡管有著各種局限，但是對于把復(fù)雜圖案和現(xiàn)實照片加到單色三維物體，這種方法還是很有前景的。我們可以想象：當(dāng)你掃描并且打印了一個人的三維頭部模型，然后把高分辨率的照片印到臉部和側(cè)面，還有頂部和后部。通過多次計算機(jī)導(dǎo)航浸入印刷可以制作出一個真正讓人驚悚的東西。