You’d think by now, 2011, we’d all be using some type of holographic technology in our homes, but that may still be years away from happening. However, the technology behind holography isn’t as complicated as you think. It’s basically a “technique that allows the light scattered from an object to be recorded and later reconstructed so that when an imaging system (a camera or an eye) is placed in the reconstructed beam, an image of the object will be seen even when the object is no longer present.” Continue reading to see seven incredible holographic technologies.
1. Dreamoc
Built by Dreamoc, this amazing technology basically “combines a real product like a Coke bottle with 3D animations that are viewable from 200 degrees” — similar to this 3D video mapping system. No word yet on if this will be available to consumers anytime soon.
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2. HoloAD
Rather than try to catch your eye with creative designs, the HoloAD uses holographic 3D technology. It basically works “by using a set of three independent images, projected onto the trapezoidal sides of a see-through glass pyramid (the back side is flat), so you can walk 180-degrees around the projection.”
3. Holographic Storage
E reveals a new holographic storage technology that allows them to fit 500GB on a single CD-sized disc. To accomplish this feat, “GE’s holographic storage uses the entire disc density for storage.” While CDs are read in 2D space (one layer), and DVDs are read in much the same way (but with an extra layer+ of data)…Data drawn through chemical reactions floats if suspended in gelatin.
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4. Holographic Map
Sure, it may not be a holographic 3D projection (Star Wars), but this geeky map — made with data from Google Sketchup — is an interesting conversation piece nonetheless. According to its creator(s), the model depicts downtown Seattle, with building heights reaching 10-inches.
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5. Kinect-Powered Hologram System
That’s right, “using a single Kinect camera and standard graphics chips, MIT researchers demonstrate the highest frame rate yet for streaming holographic video.” The researchers managed all this by tapping what are known as diffraction fringes to create an object’s 3-D shape. When light bounces off of an object, it does so at an infinite number of angles.
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6. Boarding Agents
Holographic boarding agents have arrived at Paris’ Orly Airport Hall 40. Simply put as possible, “a prerecorded video image is rear-projected onto a human-shaped piece of Plexiglass to alert passengers when and where to get on their flight.”
7. 3D Holographic Display
Researchers from Japan’s Burton, Inc. have developed a plasma-based holographic display that can project 3D images in mid-air (i.e. Star Wars). Technically speaking, it’s “capable of producing about 50,000 dots per second at a frame rate of somewhere around 10-15 fps.”
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