Researchers develop a 360-degree holographic display
By Nilay Patel 
posted Aug 31st 2007 4:59AM
posted Aug 31st 2007 4:59AM
[Via Core77]
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First post.... DAMN that thing is cool
Oh my god, that is nothing short of amazing.
I agree this is awesome... one step closer to Star Wars... busting out the Tie Fighter diagram was brilliant.
Almost 3 years ago I read an article about a system much= like this... but that system had a built-in humidifier and used the moister vapors to project onto.. does this system use vapors or anything as its canvas?
i appologize i read the abstract that was linked but didnt watch the movie before posting...definately cool.. but in terms of practicality for large holographs the projection using vapors is much better than this, but my no means am i putting this thing down.
Definitely. Looking at the running man "hologram", I'm strongly reminded of the zoetrope.
I do see one issue with this. You'll never be able to have a live person show up on the thing, cause in order to get the frames, you'd need to have a camera spinning around them just as fast. You might be able to use multiple cameras spinning in a big ring around the stage, but you'd practically be creating a tornado in the place.
I know they had the guy running at the end, but I'm not completely convinced it wasn't CGI or something that used some thousands of takes of this guy running from various angles.
This is awesome for computer generated stuff though.
Wait, there are more issues:
Getting a larger picture would require a larger spinning mirror, again with the whole tornado issues. The moving parts means that it is far more likely to break down, especially at the speeds it's spinning at.
Hmm... I also don't see this working for films, because you won't be able to control the camera angles and stuff, which is a very basic part of controlling the mood and focus of a movie. Stage performances are 3d, but the audience still only sits on one side.
I really love how it looks, but the practical applications are still limited. The moving parts are my biggest worry.
Well - you could just use X amount of cameras to capture a person live and in 3D. With todays CPU power a lot less cameras would be needed since it's possible to calculate a LOT from just to cameras positioned right. So - maybe 4-8 cameras are needed at the bottom, and the same at top.
Also - making the picture bigger has at least 2 things to it. To get X + Y bigger you could just add more mirrors and link these - but getting the Z axis "taller" might be more difficult seeing the picture never goes out of the mirror boundaries :)
yes i know esactly what you mean nick i belive it was called fog screen it used multipul projectors so people could actualy walk through it. i think it was also going to be used in japanese advertisement and sadly it had to be pre-recorded on this demo using hand movements the guy interacts with the image which is pretty cool so im not putting the technology but that fact its a spinning mirror and has to be kept in a glass case is quite sad.
J.W. sorry for errors
This is impressive. I'd like to see it in public/commercial places in the future. Could be used for advertising and who know what the heck else you can come up with... especially with the interactivity.
The holiest sci-fi dream is teleportation!
I wonder what the noise level on this thing is, spinning at that speed...
Very nice effect though!
Now this is the real WOW.... IMPRESSIVE stuff
'that spinning mirror looks pretty dangerous'
i guess thats why they have housed the whole setup in a glass cage
It’s only a matter of time before Apple (or even MS) gets hold of this, re-brand it "multi-view" and let the world will think they invented it.
Nobody gives credit to inventors anymore.
Why the hell is this AMAZING? If you want amazing holgraphic optical illusions, go visit Disney World, FL!
If you can pull it off taking away the SPINNING GLASS, then this would be AMAZING. Otherwise, another WASTE of time and resources. Spinning GLASS is not the way to go - invest more of your time and money into thinking "matrix" - "plug in your brain"
You sound like a politician choosing an energy policy. No thanks, the market works better.
wow...... can't you see that this is amazing
its a full 3D moving image that can be viewed from any direction
its a feat of engineering and programming
it is stunning
sci fi fans have waited for something like this for years and its actually here
it shows that this idea can work
and thats pretty amazing
Simply AWESOME. Don't get me wrong it IS impressive. But, should it be considered a hologram? I mean, try moving your hand through that thing and you'll see what I mean :)
Your right, cause normal holographic images we can definitely put our hands through... ;)
In all fairness, this does bring up a good point. You know how people sometimes reach out to "touch" images at a 3D movie? Well...you know some people would be dumb enough to ignore the warnings with this one. "Oooh, pretty, it's like it's real, let me touch iiiIIIAAAAIIII MY HANDS!!!"
Ahah! But you see, it really IS a hologram, because from every angle you are being fed a single determined image.
It's using a holographic film so they can essentially choose how light radiates in every direction. This actually an enormous amount of data more than what you'd need to have vectors drawn in space by projecting onto a spinning translucent film.
Proof: Go back and look at the spinning head. Notice that you can not see the lines that constitute the back of the head when you're looking at the front! If it were just drawing points of light in space, the front wouldn't be opaque! No, instead, every point in the space has to be determined not just what brightness to be, but in what directions in a full sphere around it to radiate light in!!!! Pay attention that this works with photographs, without building a 3d model. Even video! You need a frame from every angle of resolution multiplied by the number of frames.
This is completely nucking futz.
If you are not blown away, you do not comprehend the difficult of what they have achieved.
I believe I said that it IS AWESOME! And I AM blown away! I just thought of holograms as being hollow which is probably due to the popular Hollywood representation of holograms and also "holo" does sound like hollow :).
However, a 5 second research shows that "holo" is in fact a greek word for "whole" and thus this actually IS a hologram! (more details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hologram)
OMG
Santas gona have problems this year.
OMG, i so badly want one of those, thats is awsome!!! XD
Shouldn't the test image have been the specs for the death star, or maybe an image of a 2' Princess Leia?
So right! Are you in marketing :)))
Death Star for the model and "Help me Obi-Wan" for the video :)
Definitely dangerous. I mean, how are we supposed to get 3d holographic interactive porn with the spinning mirror and that big cage around it?
;)
I want a touchscreen version :D *chop there goes my finger*
That was pretty amazing, especially the interactivity of it. However I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't really a holographic projected image since it was on a big spinning mirror. Still great obviously but not quite there yet.
One step closer to a true 3D version of the original vector Star Wars arcade game.
Just ONE TIE fighter? Come on, I want to see the whole battle plan with the X-Wings flying into the Death Star!
Help me Obi-Wan
General Kenobi: Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars; now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person; but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope.
That's just what I was thinking when I saw this. It even has the washed out white image just like Leia's holo in the movie from R2. Amazing!! (now we just need Carrie Fisher to refilm the scene. :-D)
That's impossible, even for a computer!
Nothing's impossible if you can imagine it! - Professor Farnsworth
It's not impossible, I used to bullseye wamprats in my T-16 back home; they're not much bigger than 2 meters.
So, am I the only one thinking, "Here comes the holographic porn!"
How about
http://www.actuality-systems.com/site/content/gallery.html
Seems like it's already been done, and well-patented too.
It's a Trap!!
WOW! Admiral Ackbar!
And it doubles as a blender! How much would YOU pay for this? It's only three payments of $14,999! Hurry, because if you act now...
they had this in SIGGRAPH this year. They had a TIE fighter and a cuber to demo it. It was pretty cool, they also rotated around. There was a lot of cool stuff at SIGRAPPH :P
Im pretty sure it said on the clip that it was a mirror spinning at 20fps, i believe at one of the pirates of the caribean attractions in a disney theme park there is a 3d holographic projector made from mist of davy jones, i once saw a video someone made riding it on youtube, i was impressed.
Very cool. But... will it blend?
Yes. It will blend anything that gets inside the cage, because it's a mirior spinning incredibly fast.
This is just the beginning...think phased array radar. It used to be that the sensors had to move to scan area (spinning mirror). Now the sensors are static and spread across a 360 degree plane, then charged.
The researchers have done a great job of promoting the concept...now start phasing the image onto a stationary cone.
Add in some proximity sensors and you have a 3D touchable display that won't claim lives.
Mm... incredible, indeed. But what does that little wooden doll have to do with four-dimensional light fields? I was like, 'ooooh', then 'what?!' Really confusing. o.O
OMG, 4D?
CONFIRMED - THE PS3 WILL DISPLAY HOLOGRAMS.
Remember, you heard it here first.
Has anyone figured out how to record in 3D though .... ? I mean, this is great for the CAD world ... but when's my 3D porno going to arrive?
The images displayed do not have to be recorded in 3-D and so no "tornado" of video cameras would be necessary. Four stationary cameras, each capturing one side, and perhaps another camera for the top, should be sufficient. Computer design programs could then take these images, and combine them into w/e form is needed to display on this holographic system.
Why did the vid opening of the head spinning remind me of Max Headwall?
Headroom
Bah, I knew I got it wrong. :(
But does it play 3D doom?
http://www.ministryoftech.com/2006/08/25/real-3d-images-using-laser-plasma/
this looks more promising, no need for water vapor, but no color either
The key here is that this technology can't go very far without an easy way to render content. In order to feed a live football game into a 3D display, I'm going to have to shoot with 2D for Color and some type of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) at high resolution and at a rapid refresh rate to make Sunday in 3D possible without actually going to the game. This much data is going to need to travel on fiber, which FTTP (Fiber To The Premisis i.e. Verizon FIOS) is still in its infancy. Best bet, iTunes in 3D. I'd say we're still 15 to 20 years out on this even with the exponential increase in technological development.
Any bets that we will start seeing airvertising based on this technology (a la Minority Report) within the next few years?
Wow, can you imagine the possibilities for screen savers, or mp3 visualizations?
Baby steps, baby steps, love it love it. How far is the Holodeck?
cart
i saw this at siggraph, and honestly, it's not as impressive as the other emerging technologies for 3d displays out there
Holy shit, this is good stuffs.
am i the only one to think that this could replace animatronics on rides and such? all they have to do is scale it up and put in lots of color and boom there you go. this is way kool, the only thing i wonder is how loud it is. cuz that could be a problem with rides and such. but hey its new right?
Yes, because huge mirrors spinning at 20 revolutions per second is a good idea :)
No denying it's amazing but if i understand it, it tracks the eye (in the video's case, it's the camera) to display an image based on the eye's position.
Is this correct?
(project a hot ass girl - glass cage) + horny guy clueless of mirror = rofl
Ok, I'm no expert here but I've been following the types of displays for a while now looking for the most promising technology that gets it closest to the movies and also is the most practical. I was looking at this one on youtube last night and it is impressive but, in my opinion, is not the best out of all the possible contenders. This one would be best for immediate applications in medicine, like in the video where the cancer patient is looking at his tumor on it. As far as r2d2 projection goes the the current leader, i think, is the heliodisplay. (io2technology.com) Problem with the helio though is that the images are projected onto a sheet of air instead of being "rendered" in the air. I do love it though and it does look cool, specially since it is interactive and you can pass your hand through it! You also have your 3d phillips display which sounds pretty nice but still not quite a cigar does it make. The system that vizoo (vizoo.com) has created is very nice as well and, while it takes up a good deal of space, is gonna be perfect for shows n stuff. Last(to my knowledge at least) and certainly not least though, is the AIST 3d plasma display. Now I may not have worded that correctly but you know what I mean. I found a very good recently updated article on it here http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/07/aist-improves-3d-projector/ and a cool vid of it here. http://youtube.com/watch?v=He2QTpelAjE&mode=related&search= Of all the technologies, this is the one that is most exciting. Dangerous, of course, but I have no doubt that given 50 years or so(maybe even less?) they could find a way to make it much safer and maybe, just maybe, touch interactive. It's the tech that most resembles the "real thing" You know what I mean. Lol. Thanks for taking the time to read all this. :P
astonishing!
They should've displayed the emporer or the death star at least! :D
Guys, check this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0xptspGpkc
All-be-it amazing, but as holograms go, that most certainly is not. That is a reflection of light on a solid surface. If it were a true hologram, one would be capable of putting their hand through said object. Doing so in this case would surely leave you regretting doing so.
Ahh, but a hologram has nothing to do with whether you can stick your hand in it!
That is a misconception authored by the fact that something that is a hologram can display objects occupying space where nothing currently is. This one actually SHOULD be able to do that too!
What a hologram ACTUALLY does is display light in a determined direction. What this means is all the hologram can show one image to an observer at a certain angle from the object, and a separate AND UNRELATED image to an observer at a different angle. It is by choice that the images are somewhat related - they show different angles of the same scene usually, so that it appears the flat film contains depth.
THIS little beauty is doing the same thing, in real time, in a partial sphere. Notice the wire-frame head... You can't see the lines that make up the back of it when they're occluded by the front! But you can see what's behind the head altogether! The lines that make up the back of the head only emit light in a chosen direction.
And they do the same thing with pictures and video. The video where there were negative images of the statue means they can choose what image to show at a large number of viewing angles. Thus, they could have views that paired together portray a wall that's farther away than the spinning film. In essence, it can function as a viewing portal into a larger room. Neat eh? It's a true hologram alright.
I love my USC :D
Go Trojans!! Bringing us the movies and then the movies to reality!
About the guy running at the end, it's not CGI (not in the traditionnal sense anyway). It comes from another (amazing) project by Debevec's team (http://gl.ict.usc.edu/Research/RHL/). I'm not saying that this would be a pratical way of filming for TV or movies, I'm just saying that this is not a cheap video editing trick.
The possibilities boggle the mind. Imagine a cylindrical device suspended from the ceiling or in a column in the middle of a room about a meter in diameter and about eye level from a sitting position. A vacuum inside reduces the noise to nothing when the light weight material spins very rapidly inside.
the holiest grail of all sci-fi is un-arguably FTL (that or physical evidence of god)
I cannot wait to see what this technology develops into.
This should bring a whole new dimension and a whole new wild ass price tag to those places where you go to see your babie's ultrasound in 3D.
We all know that just about everyone that buys one of these things, is going to lose at least one finger, not to mention numerous friends that come over to see this thing. People just can't help but stick their fingers in spinning things to find out if it hurts.
I distinctly recall seeing the do-it-yourself plans for such a device some 25-30 years ago in Byte magazine.
A mirror mounted 45° from the axis of a spinning turntable mounted in front of an oscilloscope used as a vector display; the article included the DAC circuitry to drive the scope and the software (8080 assembler) to drive the whole contraption.
Re: Sunny Man
The holographic diffuser is basically polarized film, although allowing for polarization in multiple directions. As the mirror spins, up to 250 slightly rotated versions of the same image are projected on the mirror. Your right eye would see one image, then as the mirror spins slightly, your left eye would see a different, slightly rotated image.
You don't see the back of the wireframe head because it was not rendered as part of the image viewable from the front, and if you move to the back, the image displayed at that time only renders the back of the head and does not include the front.
The tracking that is done isn't really eye tracking, but just enough to roughly measure how far the viewer is from the display to compute the angles between your eyes and the image to correct for parallax effects.
I'm guessing that the holographic film was used to also allow for multiple polarized vertical frames.
Not to burst any bubbles, but the polarized mirror trick is not the breakthrough here. The research says they drive the display with an ordinary graphics card, but...
The projector runs at 5,000 Hz!!
Now this is pure gold. I'm pretty sure that the high-speed induction motor driven (I'm presuming so) disk can be dealt with if the design of this device is further improved. Coming from the Mechanical Engineering sector, I can guarantee one thing for sure "Nothing is as impossible as it seems in initium".
Can't wait to see a safe, easy to use 3-D Holographic Projector in the future. Although, the biggest application would probably be in the adult industry...now that would be "Total Recall" all over again..AWESOME!
Isn't the proper name for this kind of thing "Volumetric Imaging" instead of "Holography"?
Holography is 3D projected onto a 2D surface using a laser to capture the image, and a special sort of printing to imprint the image.
Volumetric imaging is the proper name for the stuff commonly, and erroneously, known as holography in science fiction movies.
Engadget, it is NOT A HOLOGRAM. It is a really cool mirror/light display. NOTHING to do with holograms. But still very cool!
360 Degree Holographic Display in Action
http://digg.com/gadgets/360_Degree_Holographic_Display_in_Action/