Bre Pettis Just Revealed The Next Super Cool Product From MakerBot

3D printing is a fledgling technology that will almost certainly change the world and Bre Pettis, CEO of MakerBot, is in the center of the action.

A 3D printer is a robot-like device that manufacturers objects. MakerBot makes 3D printers affordable enough for the average hobbyist. Eventually, 3D printers could be part of every household and be used in all sorts of ways. For instance, instead of ordering replacement parts for a broken object, the manufacturer could ship you a 3D printer file and you would print the replacement part at home.

Now Pettis has revealed the next cool thing that MakerBot is working on: a 3D scanner called the Digitizer, reports Popular Mechanic's Jerry Beilinson.

A 3D scanner creates a 3D model of any small object. That's a lot easier than today's method of creating 3D models, which typically requires drawing the object in a 3D software program.

It could be used to jumpstart the product design process.

Digitizer will be released in the fall, Pettis says. He hasn't announced its price, but promises it will be affordable.