Star Wars hologram to be reality
10 Nov 2010 by Evoluted New Media
Holographic messages like Princess Leia’s call for help in Star Wars could become a reality thanks to a breakthrough in three-dimensional holographic imaging technology.
Holographic messages like Princess Leia’s call for help in Star Wars could become a reality thanks to a breakthrough in three-dimensional holographic imaging technology.
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| Nasser Peyghambarian with a refreshable, holographic image of an F-4 Phantom Jet created on a photorefractive polymer at the UA's College of Optical Sciences. (Photo by Norma Jean Gargasz / UANews) |
Scientists from the University of Arizona have developed a new type of holographic telepresence that allows the projection of three-dimensional images – albeit in one colour – without the need for special glasses or other auxiliary devices.
“Holographic telepresence means we can record a three-dimensional image in one location and show it in another, in real-time, anywhere in the world,” said Nasser Peyghambrarian, optical science professor, who led the research.
The image is recorded using an array of regular cameras, each of which views the object from a different perspective – the more cameras the better the final holographic representation. This information is then encoded onto a fast-pulsed laser beam, which interferes with another beam that serves as a reference. The resulting interference pattern is written into the photorefractive polymer, creating and storing the image. Each laser pulse records an individual hogel – short for holographic pixel, a three-dimensional version of a pixel – in the polymer.
“At the heart of the system is a screen made from a novel photorefractive material, capable of refreshing holograms every two seconds, making it the first to achieve a speed that can be described as quasi-real-time,” said Pierre-Alexandre Blanche, assistant research professor and lead author.
The research has achieved what the group calls full parallax – as you move your head up and down, left and right, you see everything from a different perspective, making the image very life like. The hologram fades away by natural dark decay after a couple of minutes, and is insensitive to vibration because of the short pulse duration.
Further development is needed – especially to bring the hologram into full colour – but researchers hope it could be used in advertising, updatable 3D maps, entertainment and in telemedicine.
