MIT researchers have unveiled a new way to turn everyday objects into animated displays, no electronics required. A team at the university’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has developed FabObscura, a design software tool that helps people create barrier-grid animations (also known as “scanimations”). These are optical illusions where a striped or patterned sheet is moved across an image, making it appear to come alive.
With FabObscura, users can upload a short animation, preview how it will look in motion, and then export printable files. These designs can be produced on a standard printer and applied to paper or transparent sheets, instantly transforming flat surfaces into dynamic displays. While today the tool is aimed at simple prints, the researchers hope to eventually connect it to consumer 3D printing, opening the door for toys, packaging, and household items with built-in motion effects.
FabObscura is a system for creating visually dynamic physical media based on the classic barrier-grid animation technique.
Old Trick, New Twist
Barrier-grid animations aren’t new. They’ve been around since the 19th century and are often seen in children’s books, where sliding a striped sheet across an image makes it appear to move. But until now, creating these “illusions” has been time-consuming, tricky, and limited mostly to basic straight-line patterns.
FabObscura changes that by introducing a computational design tool that allows users to generate patterns using mathematical functions. The tool allows anyone to experiment with a wide range of shapes, like waves, zigzags, and spirals. Instead of wrestling with graphics software or hand-drawing patterns, users can simply choose or type an equation, preview the effect, and then print their design.
“Our system can turn a seemingly static, abstract image into an attention-catching animation,” explains MIT PhD student Ticha Sethapakdi, one of the lead researchers on the project. “The tool lowers the barrier to entry while helping users explore designs that would’ve been very time-consuming to create by hand.”
FabObscura: A thumb tack box with a snapping crocodile lid.
How It Works
At the heart of FabObscura is design software that allows users to upload frames of an animation (such as a horse running or a flower blooming), then select or even type in equations to generate the barrier pattern, which is the striped or patterned overlay that reveals the animation when moved across the image. A preview shows how the design will animate when the barrier moves, as seen in the video here.
Once finalized, the animation and barrier can be printed on paper or transparent sheets using a standard printer. These can then be layered onto objects (picture frames, book covers, jars, or coasters), instantly turning them into dynamic displays.
To show what’s possible, the team created prototypes that bring familiar items to life. For example, a coaster that changes from a coffee cup to a martini glass or a glass of water depending on how you press it. A jar lid that “blooms” into a sunflower when twisted open. A clock face where a tiny mouse runs along with every tick of the second hand.
The tool even supports what’s called “nested” animations, that is, combining multiple animations in one object. By layering patterns, they created nested effects, like a car that transforms into a motorcycle depending on the direction the barrier is moved. The effect feels almost like a physical version of a digital interface, but created entirely out of printed sheets.
The system isn’t perfect. Animations can look blurry if they’re too detailed or if you try to stack too many at once. The researchers recommend keeping the designs simple, with fewer frames and bold, high-contrast images. But even with these limits, FabObscura shows that striking animations can be made quickly and cheaply.
“By formalizing barrier-grid animation as a computational design material, FabObscura extends its expressiveness as an interactive medium,” explain the researchers.
FabObscura: A coaster whose appearance can be reconfigured to complement its beverage. Image courtesy of MIT CSAIL.
Why It Matters for 3D Printing
Right now, FabObscura is optimized for flat prints, but the research team sees a natural future in 3D fabrication. By exporting these designs to additive manufacturing workflows, it could be possible to create toys, packaging, or even decorative home goods that animate as you move them, all without motors, screens, or electronics.
For 3D printing, FabObscura opens up a new way to design objects. It makes it possible to build motion and storytelling directly into printed parts. For example, a toy could show a different face when you turn it, or packaging could change its message depending on the angle. Even simple parts could include built-in instructions or warnings, without extra labels or electronics. It’s an easy way to add movement and interactivity without extra cost or complexity.
The researchers also see 3D printing as a way to push the idea further, not just making the animations last longer, but embedding them into curved or complex shapes that paper can’t handle. That could mean a 3D printed surface where the effect wraps around an object, or durable parts that keep their animated look through everyday use. For the team, this is the real promise: turning a centuries-old visual trick into a design feature that works across materials, scales, and forms.
Next, the team wants to make FabObscura even easier to use by letting people upload full videos, with the program automatically choosing the best frames. But their bigger goal is to bring it into 3D printing, of course. This would take the playful, low-tech idea of scanimations and make it part of more advanced, durable 3D printed designs.
The project was carried out by researchers in MIT CSAIL’s Human-Computer Interaction Engineering Group, led by Associate Professor Stefanie Mueller. The team included PhD student Sethapakdi as lead author, along with MIT collaborators such as postdoctoral researcher Jiaji Li, whom I had the chance to meet during my visit to CSAIL this summer, and colleagues from Zhejiang University. Their paper, “FabObscura: Computational Design and Fabrication for Interactive Barrier-Grid Animations,” was presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST 2025), held in Busan, South Korea, during the last week of September, and is one of the top conferences for human-computer interaction research.
Jiaji Li (left) and Faraz Faruqi (right) used Style2Fab to create dozens of items. Image courtesy of 3DPrint.com.
Images courtesy of MIT CSAIL unless otherwise noted