holographic 3d display systems

[Sim]

Anyone know of any good ones that can display 3d holographic images in midair without needing a screen? Id like to get one to play with it =)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Anyone know of any good ones that can display 3d holographic images in midair without needing a screen? Id like to get one to play with it =)

I think you've been watching too much StarTrek :lol:

 

[Sim]

I know they exist. They have too. I want one to play with. Display a ghost in my hallway and scare my mom. So much fun.

 

[zevon8]

at nearly $20,000 US I 'm not sure how much you would want to "play" with it, but here you go:

**broken link removed**

 

[tansis]

Saw this last year , from Actuality Systems Inc
and is a true 360 degree dispay no less.

Science "fiction" has a knack for becoming fact!

 

[Sim]

zevon8, $20,000 a little to much. At least right now. Maybe in about 2-3 years I can get one. Maybe sooner if they drop the price to like 1000$. =)


That would be awesome though to take it apart and turn it into a holographic pong game. =)



tansis, I seen that too. Still dont know what it does. They should have video's showing off these type of things. Its so hard to believe just by looking at them and words can't explain some of these amazing products.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Saw this last year , from Actuality Systems Inc
and is a true 360 degree dispay no less.

Science "fiction" has a knack for becoming fact!

Yes it does (which is great), but that is a long!!!! way from being a 3d image without a 'screen' - I consider it's 'bowl' a screen really (I'm presuming it's an integral part of it?).

Also the quality is pretty pathetic, it's got a long way to go to make a useable display - assuming the technology employed has the capability of doing so?.

Huge amounts of money have been thrown at the problem of 3d displays for a great many years, I don't believe anyone has managed a practical working version yet.

 

[tansis]

Blame it on Princess Leia. Ever since Luke Skywalker watched R2D2 project an image of the Princess in mid-air during the first Star Wars movie, people have been asking laser companies to do duplicate the effect. Although laser show companies are skilled at many things, breaking the fundamental laws of physics is not one of them. This doesn't mean, however, that they cant' try …

To begin with, let's tackle the basic question: why can't Princess Leia float in mid-air? The problem comes down to the nature of light itself. When we see a laser beam slice through the air, we aren't seeing the beam-we're seeing light reflecting from dust in the air. If the beam has nothing to reflect off, it's invisible to our eye. Of course, there is another way to see laser light. You simply look directly into the laser cavity itself (please don't do this if you value your eyesight!). What you'll see is light emitted from the source. These two examples cover the spectrum when it comes to how the human eye perceives light. To see Princess Leia, her image must either be reflected from a surface (such a projection screen) or emitted from a source (such as a CRT). In either case, a true free space projection is impossible.

So much for the bad news. The good news is that lasers offer a host of ways to create pseudo-3D images that amaze audiences. Some of these ways are old tricks familiar to lighting designers, others are so high-tech that they have yet to be introduced into the marketplace.

The closest thing approximating a free-floating Princess Leia was a prototype volumetric projector created by Neos Technologies of Melbourne, Fla. Volumetric projection refers to any technique that creates an image within an enclosed space. The Neos system worked by using a spinning helix as the projection surface. Spin the helix vast enough and it seems disappears, much like the blades of a high-speed fan become almost transparent when moving. Neos used lasers to project wire-frame images on the surface of the spinning helix, with a computer controlling the precise position of the image as it traveled up, down and around the helix. The spinning corkscrew-shaped helix was enclosed in a one-meter tall box (don't want to loose fingers reaching for the laser image), which made the effect somewhat less than free-floating. This approach is also extremely expensive to implement, so don't expect to see it soon in entertainment applications.

Laser Magic of Playa del Ray, Calif. also uses the volumetric approach for three dimensional laser artwork, but does so using materials that are far easier to work with. Its Laser Tank, for example, uses special microscopic particles suspended in liquid. "The tank acts like a room filled with smoke," said Laser Magic's Barney Kaelin. But unlike room-sized displays, images in the tank appear extremely bright even with low-powered lasers and high ambient light levels. Text, logos and line art seem to mysteriously materialize within the tank, complete with three-dimensional depth as the laser beam passes through the liquid.

One of the oldest laser tricks, but still one of the most effective, is using scrims as projection surfaces. On a dark set, a hanging scrim will not be visible to the audience. When a laser image is projected onto it, the image will appear to magically float in free space. This is much like projecting a movie or video scene-the image is still flat, but good computer animation will make it look three-dimensional. Unlike video, however, the bright, intense laser beam is quite visible on an open-weave scrim. To heighten the effect, I've seen fog added to the set, so that bright shafts of laser light appear in space, with the scanned image floating within the beam pattern.

A variation of the scrim trick is to use a glass surface as projection screen. Viewers will see through the glass, but the glass also reflects images projected onto it (usually from a 45-degree angle off-stage). With the right lighting, the glass is not visible to the audience, and images appear to float in space. This type of illusion dates back to the "Pepper's Ghost" stage trick first shown in 1863.

In his effort to put on new twist on the century-old trick, Kaelin of Laser Magic developed a special projection screen that creates the illusion of floating objects when it's used in conjunction with video or laser projectors. The company's TransScreen consists of two sheets of acrylic plastic that encase a proprietary film that simultaneously diffracts, reflects and transmits all wavelengths of light. With the right lighting, the screen is invisible to the audience, and projected images will appear to float in space.

Although the TransScreen works with any high-quality video projector, Kaelin says it really shines when used with a laser video projector. Unlike conventional video, laser video projectors use modulated beams of laser light that are raster-scanned to create television images. The lasers, however, only put light on the image itself-they don't need to scan a full background frame, as do conventional projectors. That's a crucial factor when it comes to creating convincing images. Standard video projectors must show a full frame image, and they use so-called "video black" to fill in the blank portions of the frame. Unfortunately, video back is more of a hazy gray color, ruining the illusion that Princess Leia is floating in the void of space.
**broken link removed**

Once upon a time 30 lines of resolution was considered cutting edge!

 

[Oznog]

With the Heliodisplay (which, as they emphasize clearly is NOT holographic)- is anyone else uneasy by their description that it "modifies", "transforms" the air?? Their reassurances that it doesn't add anything or permanently change the air does little to reassure me. "Trust us... we won't tell you what it does, but SURE it's safe"

**broken link removed**

I got a laugh out of Thumb Wars take on the Princess Leia hologram, where they slide under her looking for the upskirt view. Perhaps there are unintended problems with such technology.

 

[vaineo]

Did you watch the videos they had on that site, looks really wierd when the guy blows on the image, its like tossing a rock at the reflection in water.

**broken link removed**

 

[0mega]

The actuality one works by persistance of vision, i'm pretty sure. Big rotor spins around with sequenced LEDs on the edge very fast. Only in 3D, not 2D. Like the "floating clock" idea.

The HelioDisplay is a mystery though :?

--JB

 

[tansis]

Here is a cutaway drawing of the display from Actuality systems.
(available in the shops now)

 

[0mega]

I was right!
At least, i think i was right!

Only, i do see one problem with this system (dunno if i'm dumb or what) :
the centre spins slower than the outside. Does anyone see problems with this??

--JB

 

[grrr_arrghh]

i watched the video of the bloke moving his finger around, and the coloured circles change sizes.

Was anyone else suspicious of the fact that he said out loud what he was doing - maybe I have a suspicious mind, but whats to stop someone changing the image as he moves his finger around...

Tim

 

[tansis]

Sadly being on the end of a dial up connection in the middle of nowhere I have yet to download the demo videos,my connection keeps timimg out.
If someone could mail or transfer it to me over msn it would help!

As I said earlier the laws of physics have not been broken, soooo!
the image has to be relected off something with the Heliodisplay.
Magicians are often described as using Smoke and mirrors and a quick read through some of the other 3D image sites yields interesting clues.
Droplets of water vapour / fog might do it, or strands of black cotton held upright by a jet of air..

I do find it strange that hi resolution pictures are not freely available,
even from the small still pictures on the website there is something distinctly odd about the way the image appears.

Omega -
The Actuality 3D display does not trick the eye into building the image in the brain like the "propeller" clock. Basically what you have is a spinning 2D display, for every increment of rotation a slighty different image is displayed.

 

[grrr_arrghh]

PM with ur address and i'll send it to you.

 

[tansis]

My thanks for the video!

Well I would say it is reflecting the image from
small water droplets in multiple streams of air.
Why it does not use a single slot I cannot say.

As for the secrecy surrounding the internal workings..
well who would think of mating a de-humidifier
to an image projector, but thats innovation for you.

one plus one equals three
one idea added to another gives something new

think about it , got to get the water from somewhere,
and as the company blurb states allthough the air is modified /
transformed but not perminantly changed


The interactive demo is bogus in my opinion,
dont get me wrong it could be done, the technology
does exist. As a teaser of what could be available in
the very near future it's not that bad though.

 

[Electric Rain]

That would be awesome though to take it apart and turn it into a holographic pong game. =)

Hey, I know of a way to make a pong game that floats in mid air. It's not holographic though. It uses LEDs. Want me to show you the site? I've been thinking of building it myself.

 

[grrr_arrghh]

Hey, I know of a way to make a pong game that floats in mid air

Yep, so do I. Its called tenis.

 

[JohnBrown]

Hey, I know of a way to make a pong game that floats in mid air

Yep, so do I. Its called tenis.

That's very funny. Is it similar to tennis? No, seriously, it is funny.