By using paper with tiny depressions, researchers have discovered a way to make 2D printings reflect light like a 3D object.
When you shine a light at a 3D object, the way the shadows hit its features is part of how our brain interprets its shape — and it's something that a 2D print pretty convincingly can't do. That is, until now. A group of researchers from HP, UC Santa Cruz, and 3M have created a type of paper that can be used to interact with light the way that real, 3D objects do.
