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autodesk 123d

Popular Mechanics honors breakthrough innovations

What do Elon Musk, Leap Motion, Microsoft Surface and Windows 8, Autodesk 123D, and Dow Solar's PowerHouse Solar Shingles have in common?

They are all among the winners of Popular Mechanics magazine's eighth Breakthrough Awards. Awarded each year by a panel of the magazine's editors, the honors go to people and products that are seen to be leading the world of science and commerce forward.

This year's product winners are: The North Face Powder Guide ABS Vest and Backpack; the Lytro camera; Autodesk 123D; Microsoft Surface and Windows 8; Ford's 1-liter EcoBoost engine; Dow PowerHouse … Read more

Point and shoot, then print in 3D (video)

Techies are all abuzz about 3D printing. Imagine turning your photographs into 3D models. Autodesk recently unveiled two free pieces of software that enable users to do just that.

The software, called 123D Catch and 123D Make, creates a 3D model of your images, which can then be sent to a 3D printer or can be constructed out of cardboard as a template. SmartPlanet recently talked to Autodesk to see how it all works.

This video originally appeared on SmartPlanet with the headline "Print 3D models out of your pictures."