Dynamic holographic displays are finally here, a couple decades late

Face it, the past few decades of flat holograms have been a sham. Baseball cards? Security logos? Software piracy protection? This isn't what sci-fi had in mind at all. Thankfully, some University of Arizona scientists are getting the technology back on track with a new three-dimensional holographic display. What makes this one special is that the display is dynamic -- it can be rewritten with an entirely new image in a few minutes. Obviously the refresh rate's going to need some work before we're all chugging along on a holographic workstation, but it's certainly a start. The current prototype is 4-inch by 4-inch, and only displays in red, but the researchers believe a full color display is feasible, and they're already at work on a 1-foot by 1-foot version.

[rp @ Feb 6th 2008 7:32PM]

Virtual Boi 2.0, sweet

[tf @ Feb 6th 2008 7:34PM]

"Help me University of Arizona, you're my only hope"

[StrangeBum @ Feb 6th 2008 9:45PM]

It's nice to see something so amazing as this to come from my homestate. Generally stereotyped to be like the Griswolds cousins in Vegas Vacation. Most movies that deal with Arizona, that's what it shows. It's bothersome.

Go U of A!!!

[mushrooshi @ Feb 6th 2008 7:41PM]

The pic scared me.

[m @ Feb 7th 2008 1:06AM]

seriously. skull+brain+car=wtf? it's like they went with red to give it maximum creepiness.

[AJ @ Feb 7th 2008 7:37PM]

Actually m it wasn't really up tp them what color the image would come out to be, at least I think. But I'm pretty sure that was the case as I am, to a certain extent, familiar with holographic dsisplay systems. Not because I study the subject, though I do study Quantum Mechanics with kneen interest, but simply due to the fact that I am an android from 3500 years in the future. It indeed is a beautiful and peacful place, unlike the pathetic excuse of a living that you humans have grown so accustomed to. This technology will cause a global conflict in the near future, which you for some bizzare reason will call World War III. Nobody wins because all humans are newbs. Before going extinct though humans will create robots with the ultimate artificial intelligence ushering a new era on this planet. Pwned.

[m @ Feb 8th 2008 2:42AM]

so... who won the 2008 world series?

[AJ @ Feb 8th 2008 3:37PM]

I've done some research into what you call, "The World Series." Unfortunately that information was eradicated in the Great War of the new beginning. As I said, humans are or rather were newbs. Pwned.

[webon @ Feb 6th 2008 8:20PM]

this would be awesome for medical applications, such as 3d echocardiographic holography. very, very cool

[spacegravity4me @ Feb 6th 2008 8:24PM]

it's great but it's still no holodeck or r2d2 projector.

[Mile @ Feb 6th 2008 8:27PM]

It's really quite amazing how they can control the Lava to make pictures like that. My lava lamp just makes lava balls. Hot and wet lava balls.

[Blake Bowen @ Feb 6th 2008 9:51PM]

I wonder if you could make a 3d display that used a ball of molten wax and a large number of water jets to produce the image.

[Loomis @ Feb 6th 2008 10:41PM]

This method seems to have its greatest benefit in the large-format size and "simpler" display surface... not necessarily speed. For your holographic workstation, there's always Michael Bove at MIT (http://obm.media.mit.edu/) whose group is doing real-time holographic displays, and the group from U. Texas SW (http://innovation.swmed.edu/research/instrumentation/res_inst_dev3d.html) using gels for real-time holographics.
While we're never going to have Princess Leia (them photons don't just back-project for fun ya know), give it a few more years before one of these various 3D display techs takes off.

[Ben @ Feb 6th 2008 11:06PM]

A full color, fully 3D display can be made with a spiral-cut reflective surface that spins like a barber pole, and scanning lasers that strike the spinning surface from the side. This allows colored points to be placed at any location in the 3D volume that comprises the front half of the spinning spiral in such a manner that it is fully exposed to your eye. There are no technological barriers to this type of display. The electronics have to co-ordinate the laser fire and aim with the known position of the spiral at any one moment. Lasers are required because the dot must be able to "land" at varied distances within the volume and so it cannot have an explicit focus at an explicit depth. Of course a monochrome version (green, red) of this is relatively trivial, though a *white* monochrome version isn't.

[Sherbert @ Feb 6th 2008 11:55PM]

I saw another holographic display online that I thought was more impressive than this in my opinion. It's called Cheoptics 360. Of course I believe the use and technology behind these two diplays are vastly different. The Cheoptics doesn't look like you can truly "see" the object in 3D like this one here. Cheoptics I believe can only display an image or video just floating in the air, not an entire 3D model. The technology is coming farther and farther along! :D

[joe @ Feb 7th 2008 12:09AM]

I bet a hologram of boobs would be cool.

[m @ Feb 7th 2008 1:27AM]

except it would display along with a lung and a tractor.

[uberfu @ Feb 7th 2008 10:32AM]

Look out - Death Star Battle Strategy Interface - here we come!