3-D printing

A 3-D printing software company hands artists high-tech tools to craft human-centered projects. But it isn't the first program to pair the imaginative with the practical to inform great innovation.

The Army has long used high-tech tools to make meals for our troops. Now, military scientists are turning away from pots and pans, and looking to 3-D printers to make nutritious food.

A 3-D printer allows people to easily create Yoda busts, Tintin's rocket ship — and even NPR action figures. But as this technology gets cheaper, the budding industry could face the same intellectual property battles that upended the music business a decade ago.