Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/apples-invincibles/
If you’re thinking The Invincibles sounds like another tough-guy adventure series starring old action heroes or written around superheroes, you’d be mistaken. Instead, it’s actually the name of Apple’s new iPhone campaign highlighting super cute dogs with prostheses. What’s the tie-in, you ask?
As it turns out, Apple’s iPhone has played a vital role in getting canines up and about after being left down but not out. The doggos in The Invincibles are all members of 3DPets‘ clientele list as providers of custom mobility devices for animals. A small nonprofit based in Boonton, New Jersey, the company uses the LiDAR Scanner and TrueDepth camera features on the iPhone 14 Pro to give animals that have lost limbs or the use of them a certain level of renewed freedom.
Inspirational, The Invincibles was filmed on an iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max and features 5 pups with improved luck after being fitted for custom prosthetics. One of them, Trip, is the pet of Lydia Mindek, 3DPets’ director of operations. Also looked upon as their mascot, Trip was one of 3DPets’ first-ever clients, and his involvement assisted them in shaping their development process.
“I couldn’t take Trip on hikes or walks before he got his prosthesis. And now he comes with me everywhere. He’s always wearing his device. His longest hike was three miles on rocky terrain through the woods to a waterfall. And it was probably one of the most emotional moments in my life, not only because the hike was grueling but because I never thought that he would be able to do that with us,” Mindek shared with PEOPLE.
“Seeing pets regain their mobility and the difference it makes in their lives, there’s no more rewarding feeling,” Mindek added of the work 3DPets performs.
The process for making the custom prostheses includes using the TrueDepth and LiDAR cameras to create 3D scans of the animals before moving on to the next step, which is employing computer software to construct 3D molds based on those scans.
As to applications like these, 3D printers have been in use for animal prosthetics for roughly 10 years now or more, with one concerned do-it-yourselfer by the name of Mike Garey of Feathered Angels Waterfowl Sanctuary in Arlington, Tennessee, making a 3D palmate for a duck called Buttercup that included a flexible ankle. Buttercup went on to become an honorary Peabody Duck afterwards.
If you’re interested in learning more about this cool collaboration, The Invincibles, the dogs involved, and 3DPets’ role, check out the video below.
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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
