On Friday, March 8, MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis said in an announcement - made during his keynote address at the South By Southwest event in Austin, Texas - that the 3D printing company is developing a desktop 3D scanner called the' Digitizer.'

With the process of scanning chiefly allowing users to obtain a printable design file for a 3D object, the Digitizer which MakerBot is working on will essentially facilitate the conversion of real-world objects into a
3D-printable software file.

The Digitizer will apparently make MakerBot the first consumer-level 3D printer manufacturer to offer a 3D scanner of the mentioned capability.

With the MakerBot Digitizer currently reported to be in prototype form, the company has yet to make an official announcement about the likely price-tag of the device. However, as per the press release, the cost of the Digitizer will probably be consumer-affordable; most likely in the same range as MakerBot's original Replicator 3D printer, which is priced at $1,800.

The press release also quoted Pettis as saying that the Digitizer will give the users the ability "to scan a physical object;" thereby indicating that the device will make use of the traditional combination of "lasers and cameras to replicate physical objects into a digital form and file."