Waiting impatiently for my 3D map
In my previous update I shared what I’d learned about 3D printing, and at the time I was scouting around for possible business ideas in that space.
Shortly thereafter I got excited about the idea of 3D printed terrain maps — i.e. a 3D model (with elevation accurately presented) of a particular geographic feature or area.
Now, I’ll admit up front, that there’s a danger that I’m interested in this because it’s cool (I love maps and I love mountains…), and so it’s possible I’m reaching a bit to find a legitimate business idea based on this, but hear me out.
What would I be selling?
The basic idea is to sell a 3D model, made out of sandstone, in full color, of a real world location — e.g. Lake Tahoe, the Lake District, Mount Everest, Yosemite Valley, the Grand Canyon etc. The long-term goal is that someone could select any location they want and it could be automatically printed (although right now the process of creating the model is very manual).
Who would buy it, and why?
My theory (which needs testing) is that there are several possible buyers for this kind of product:
- individuals who think the models are cool — basically purchasing as art work.
- recreation / adventure businesses (e.g. adventure tours, travel agencies)— who could have a model like this in their office and use it as part of their sales process to talk about the local area and what options are available for hiking / skiing / climbing / paragliding, etc.
- real-estate / property businesses — who again could use the model to help discuss possible locations with people considering purchasing a vacation home or similar.
I’ll talk a bit later about my current status with this experiment, but before I do I’d like to run this business through the various tests that I identified in earlier articles.
What’s the evaluation process to test a new business idea?
In this article I wrote about a series of questions that need to be answered to validate a business idea. I don’t have answers to all of these yet, but I can present my theories. Testing these will be key over the next few weeks/months.
- Is there a real problem?
There’s not an urgent and compelling need for this, no. BUT if it helps people to sell adventure vacations or property then that could be very valuable to those businesses. - Will people pay money to solve that problem?
Yes, if it increases sales. - Do I have a way of connecting with (i.e. marketing to) these people?
Not yet. Once I have a prototype model that will be the next important step in my evaluation process. I can imagine taking a trip to Lake Tahoe and showing a model to a bunch of local businesses could provide hugely important feedback. - Does my proposed product/service solve that problem?
I believe so, yes. :-) - Will people pay money for my product/service?
I hope so, yes. :-)
Is this the kind of business that I, personally, want to create.
In my first article, I wrote about the kind of business I was hoping to create, and I identified several characteristics of such a business.
- Low-risk: can the business be validated without spending a huge amount of time or money?
Answer: Yes. I’ve invested a couple of weeks of time into this (most of which is generally useful education about 3D design), and a few hundred dollars of cash, but I should soon be able to test out the idea with potential customers to see if anyone’s interested. That’s an acceptable level of risk. - Customers should be SMBs:
Answer: Yes — see above. - Recurring revenue:
No. Which means you need to find new customers over and over, which is a pain. - Purpose: am I doing this for more than just the money?
70% yes. I’m personally excited about the technology, and about maps and about cool geographies and mountains and creating beautiful models — so that’s all good. Whether this business would make the world a better place is not so clear.
So I’d say this is a decent match — there could well be better business ideas out there, but this is something that I’m enthusiastic about right now, and even if nothing comes of it I’ll learn a lot from the experiment.
That’s all very interesting, but what have you actually done so far?
Sorry, yes. Good question.
I have defined a process for taking data from the US Geological Survey National Map (data that includes both elevation data, and detailed satellite images) and creating a full color 3D model from that data using an open source 3D modelling tool named Blender.
I’ve therefore created a 3D model (on the computer) of Yosemite Valley (see screenshot above) and have (today) ordered a 20cm x 10cm x 4cm (approx 8" x 4" x 1.5") model from Shapeways.com — a done-for-you 3D printing service who offer color 3D printing in sandstone.
I now have an annoying 10 day wait while they process my order and deliver it. I’m excited to see how it turns out, and will be sharing photos and a video of the model once I have it in my hands.
