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I've seen this thing in real life and it's astounding. In the early versions, it was clear that the magic was happening by projecting slices onto the surface o

I've seen this thing in real life and it's astounding. In the early versions, it was clear that the magic was happening by projecting slices onto the surface of multiple sheets of plexiglass. In this production version, the glass is 100% transparent, and the slices of image appear to be a seamless 3D whole. Aside from the fact that it's not in open air, it's just like looking at a real hologram. As you move your head, you're seeing a different point of view, and the object looks like it is really inside that block of glass moving around. I don't think I've seen any consumer gadget that seems so thoroughly from the future in the last 10 years.

sp332 8y ago
I have one of these and it's a very cool effect. Looking at a single image, the resolution seems impossibly low. But as VR developers discovered, getting the brain to accept an image is much more dependent on the "solidity" of the image than on the resolution or texture detail, and this device nails that. Plus with a moving image, your brain is good at integrating texture information over time and your experience will feel merely "grainy" and not super blocky.
calhoun137 8y ago
> Aside from the fact that it's not in open air I once put a lot of work into researching how to build an "open air" 3d hologram like they have in the movies and came to the conclusion that it is basically against the laws of physics. This is because its impossible to bend light beams in free space. There are however a lot of cool tricks and hacks, 3d holograms are a really cool subject, this Looking Glass product looks fantastic I want one. One of the biggest problems these kinds of holograms in a box have is, even though horizontal scrolling works fine, being able to look at it from the top and bottom does not. Here [1] is a video of a 3d hologram in a box based on a rotating mirror that has a head tracker for viewing from different vertical angles. It's really cool but the thing rotates so fast it's also extremely dangerous. Another approach for open air 3d holograms is to create a series of small explosions that emit light by shooting dangerous high powered lasers into the air and using plasma emission. See [2] Finally here is a cool video of some fan based holograms [3] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvPS1m40gw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvPS1m40gw [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVS-npfVuY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVS-npfVuY [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjvq0SNczrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjvq0SNczrI
- colordrops 8y ago
  * against the laws of engineering. There's no reason we couldn't come up with something creative once the technology was there. For instance, a magnetic field could keep matrix of tiny particles in the air that could be targeted with lasers that cause the particles to emit light. There's already something along those lines, heating the air enough to form plasma: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WkkZcFWgr4Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WkkZcFWgr4Q Very primitive and limited but certainly a proof of concept. Edit: ugh, this is what happens when you don't read a comment fully before replying.
  - calhoun137 8y ago
    I thought there might be a way to use constructive and destructive interference of a large number of sources to build an open air 3d hologram out of pure light. If light didn't have to travel in a straight line, and we could control the index of refraction at any point in space, this would probably work.
    - chopin 8y ago
      Standing sound waves could achieve this. Albeit, the change in refractive index is small. Another possibility would be using molecules having a high refractive index when exited. A laser tuned to that would probably work. But that's not exactly in air.
  - mlevental 8y ago
    > For instance, a magnetic field could keep matrix of tiny particles in the air that could be targeted with lasers that cause the particles to emit light. irony: this is in fact "against the laws of physics" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%27s_theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%27s_theorem
    - akiselev 8y ago
      Yeah, I think what he means to say is ultra minituarized matrix of billions of high powered phased arrays all synchronized to keep billions of charged aerogel-type mm^2 "pixels" with a different angle of refraction as you rotate it and a different excitation at different ... just make it up as you go along, its decades away at best!

sp332 8y ago

I have one of these and it's a very cool effect. Looking at a single image, the resolution seems impossibly low. But as VR developers discovered, getting the brain to accept an image is much more dependent on the "solidity" of the image than on the resolution or texture detail, and this device nails that. Plus with a moving image, your brain is good at integrating texture information over time and your experience will feel merely "grainy" and not super blocky.

calhoun137 8y ago

> Aside from the fact that it's not in open air I once put a lot of work into researching how to build an "open air" 3d hologram like they have in the movies and came to the conclusion that it is basically against the laws of physics. This is because its impossible to bend light beams in free space. There are however a lot of cool tricks and hacks, 3d holograms are a really cool subject, this Looking Glass product looks fantastic I want one. One of the biggest problems these kinds of holograms in a box have is, even though horizontal scrolling works fine, being able to look at it from the top and bottom does not. Here [1] is a video of a 3d hologram in a box based on a rotating mirror that has a head tracker for viewing from different vertical angles. It's really cool but the thing rotates so fast it's also extremely dangerous. Another approach for open air 3d holograms is to create a series of small explosions that emit light by shooting dangerous high powered lasers into the air and using plasma emission. See [2] Finally here is a cool video of some fan based holograms [3] [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvPS1m40gw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gvPS1m40gw [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVS-npfVuY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVS-npfVuY [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjvq0SNczrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjvq0SNczrI

colordrops 8y ago
* against the laws of engineering. There's no reason we couldn't come up with something creative once the technology was there. For instance, a magnetic field could keep matrix of tiny particles in the air that could be targeted with lasers that cause the particles to emit light. There's already something along those lines, heating the air enough to form plasma: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WkkZcFWgr4Q https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WkkZcFWgr4Q Very primitive and limited but certainly a proof of concept. Edit: ugh, this is what happens when you don't read a comment fully before replying.
- calhoun137 8y ago
  I thought there might be a way to use constructive and destructive interference of a large number of sources to build an open air 3d hologram out of pure light. If light didn't have to travel in a straight line, and we could control the index of refraction at any point in space, this would probably work.
  - chopin 8y ago
    Standing sound waves could achieve this. Albeit, the change in refractive index is small. Another possibility would be using molecules having a high refractive index when exited. A laser tuned to that would probably work. But that's not exactly in air.
- mlevental 8y ago
  > For instance, a magnetic field could keep matrix of tiny particles in the air that could be targeted with lasers that cause the particles to emit light. irony: this is in fact "against the laws of physics" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%27s_theorem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earnshaw%27s_theorem
  - akiselev 8y ago
    Yeah, I think what he means to say is ultra minituarized matrix of billions of high powered phased arrays all synchronized to keep billions of charged aerogel-type mm^2 "pixels" with a different angle of refraction as you rotate it and a different excitation at different ... just make it up as you go along, its decades away at best!