Holograms

The thing that I find interesting in technology are Holograms.

 Most of you know what holograms are ever since you saw R2D2’S hologram projector in Star Wars when Luke Skywalker watched princess Leia repeating ''help me obi-wan-Kenobi''.

 For those of you who don’t know what it is ill quickly explain it. 

So what is a hologram? 

The term comes from the word ‘’holos’’ which means ‘’complete’’ and ‘’gram’’ which means ‘’message’’. It is in simple words an encounter of immaterial image (usually 3D) of an absent human and living humans. It involves the use of laser interference, diffraction and reflection.

Going back to the Star Wars, how many of you have wondered when would we be actually able to see holograms in real life?This idea of getting 3D ,360 degrees images in real life and on demand that had been so far confined to the screens is exciting and scientists are making it possible!

I have found two articles that on regarding this phenomenon.One deals with real holograms and the other talks about an invention of hologram-like videoconferencing.These are a big step forward in technology and have been very welcomed into our present world

Zebra Imaging

Austin's Zebra Imaging is a company that develops holographic technology since it started in 1996.The Company complies of 60 MIT grads and makes holographic maps that, according to the company, have been "utilized by the US military overseas for visualization and defence planning applications."

In the North Austin Zebra Imaging building, the company has a large display area called “the Holodeck." It looks like a large sheet of film negative. Data from 3-D design files is taken and it prints with lasers onto the films surface. This image of monochrome or colour looks to exist in 3-D to the human eye (all without glasses).It seems the film stretches far below and above. It can also be very detailed, displaying city blocks or floor plans.

   One of the most impressive things in this is that is can present different views from different angles, like doors to interiors if you move around or rotate the films. This is because the data is embedded into the prints in pixel like bits and can be modified..

  An even more impressing thing the company is working on is the ‘’Zscape’’. its implies the same principals however, the 3-D image is floating above the table. It can present a video telegraphically or a set of images. In one demo, a 3-D model of a human brain could be viewed from any angle. It could be zoomed in on and rotated.

Wargo,CEO of Zebra Imaging says that when you see a hologram you are an exposed to something unique “You move around a true hologram and see complete perspective anywhere. It's just as if you're seeing a physical object represented’’

 

This in my opinion is one of the best developments of all time. It has allowed for a detailed examination in forensic investigations of accident sites, designing infrastructure and architecture. In the future if will be perfected so it will allow sculpting  or moving around.

An interesting thing is that there is software available to download from their website which allows anyone to turn a 3-D rendering into a hologram. The prices range from $249 to $2,499

This article is on something hologram-like and it could revolutionise videoconferencing forever.

TeleHuman

Researcher’s ad Queens University created a human scale 3D pod that could revolutionise videoconferencing forever. ’Why Skype when you can talk to a life-size 3D holographic image of another person’’ says Professor Roel Vertegaal, director of the Human Media Lab.

The Design is called TeleHuman and resembles the star treck  holodeck. The system supports 360 motion parallax and allows people to video conference as if they were standing in front of each other. It can project a 3D image in real time without the need of eyewear.

The TeleHuman  display consists of things like Microsoft Kinect sensors, a 3D projector, a 1.8 metre-tall translucent acrylic cylinder and a convex mirror .These dimetions were chosen to allow the range of size of the people using it.To get the exact construction of it take a look at the paper. Two people stand in front of their own life size cylindrical pods and talk to the 3-D hologram-like image. The cameras capture and track the video and then convert it to a life size surround image.

I think this is a great step forward and the closest we will ever be to teleporting. It will revolutionise videoconferencing as the systems we have now like Skype have many limitations that don’t support nonverbal communications such as eye contact. This is a big step forward, and the best thing about it is it will be for sale in the next five years for around $5,000.

Overall it seems like holography is constantly developing and is here to stay to good.
Is it a good or bad thing? well we will just have to wait and see..
sources:
http://phys.org/news/2012-06-holograms-real.html 
 http://phys.org/news/2012-05-life-size-d-hologram-like-telepods-revolutionize.html