Discovering Computer Graphics: Holograms

Introduction:

The 2015 Immersive Education Summit is going to this coming fall, in Paris! We will be discussing a variation of topics, that include new topics, as well a refresher for the old ones too. Do not miss out on a chance to learn more about the Immersive Education program. To check it out, click on this link! Summit Immersive Education. Here we will begin to cover the fast growing technology of holograms.

Overview:

The idea of holograms has been around for a while, with the help of special effects. We’ve seen them in movies, TV shows, and even on roller coaster rides at big name amusement parks. It’s an idea that is fun and exciting, and that has developed greatly over the past decade. With the growth of technology, social media, iPhones, and Google Glass aren’t the only eye opening inventions to note.

Holograms are 3D images of people, things, and places you name it. We are able to insert ourselves into environments with other people, and actually interact with the people there. The technology that allows this to happen includes mostly computers, although a prototype of 3D goggles also invented in the process – much like the glasses you’re given at 3D movies.

Goggles are the first try at the 3D hologram technology. Because it was one of the first prototypes, they found positive and negative things to work on. Such as, having as many cameras around to create a seamless room environment, where you can turn your head with the goggles on, and see exactly how the room is in real life. They also figured that to create a fake sense of 3D depth to the eye, they had to trick the brain. They did so by showing each eye something different, so that when the brain processes the images at the same time, it will combine into viewing a 3D image, not two.

Goggles were a good first stab at holograms, and the creation of interactive spaces, but computers proved to be more functional for this sort of technology. Computers have developed into machines that work efficiently, and are useful for a wide variety of things. Now, they are being used to create these holographic environments. Think about a world where you don’t have to fly over seas to have a business meeting, or spend hundreds of dollars to fly home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years to spend with your family. Instead, you can open up a computer, and project yourself into these environments.

New computers have been tested with to figure out how to create a flawless and seamless hologram image. In order to do so, Brown College has found that computers must first be able to generate thousands of times faster than the normal compute to make sure that the hologram doesn’t have many glitches. Secondly, it needs to recognize moving objects such as people or animals in the room. Thirdly, the images need to be tracked and stored for future hologram visits so that we can project those images on top a stereo-immersive surface.

In the near future, we are hopeful to see holograms become more real life, than something we see only in Hollywood productions. The team working on advancing holograms hopes to enable holograms to interact not only verbally, but also physically with touch. They want to enable gamers to be more interactive in the virtual reality instead of just playing with a joystick or controller. They understand there are many more steps to take until these can be accomplished, but they know that in order to do so, they will need a faster internet, with space for large amounts of data to process 3 times faster than it already is, and to develop sensory and display platforms to it’s full potential.