scrAPP: Enabling Reuse of Scrap Materials with a Smartphone

Abstract

We introduce scrAPP, a smartphone app that helps designers reuse odd-shaped scrap sheet materials. scrAPP uses a smartphone camera to capture the contour of scrap materials providing precise measurements on the spot enabling users to quickly determine if their CAD models will fit on the material and to then place the models for cutting. This work contributes to the body of work focused on sustainability in digital fabrication through the development of tools for designers. The paper describes the rationale and user-centered approach to the development of scrAPP as well as insights into the needs of creative users gathered from an exploratory preliminary user study. A number of challenges in terms of technical implementation and user experience are explored, and conclusions on the future support for mobile material reuse are provided.