Holograms in science fiction range from a simple 3D display to the fully interactive experience of Star Trek’s holodeck. The tech for the first one is here, more or less, but the latter might be truly sci-fi. Still, it is possible to create holograms that can be manipulated using your hands, as if you were touching them – and that is awesome.
There have been a few approaches to volumetric displays to create a 3D image without the need for special glasses. One of them employed a fast oscillating sheet called a diffuser. The sheet oscillates at an incredible speed, and synchronously, images are projected on it.
Thanks to 2,880 images per second on the diffuser and the comparatively slow ability for our eyes and brain to make sense of that, the hologram appears. But diffusers are usually rigid, so you might not want to touch something vibrating that fast. So researchers had to work out an alternative.
“We are used to direct interaction with our phones, where we tap a button or drag a document directly with our finger on the screen – it is natural and intuitive for humans. This project enables us to use this natural interaction with 3D graphics to leverage our innate abilities of 3D vision and manipulation,” Asier Marzo, the lead researcher, said in a statement.
The team designed an elastic diffuser that could be touched without damage to either the tech or the person. The challenge was to make sure the image remains what it is supposed to be, as the material more easily deforms.
The team worked through the challenge and created a setup where you can place your hand through the strips of material that make the diffuser and act like you are moving the hologram itself.
“For example, grasping a cube between the index finger and thumb to move and rotate it, or simulating walking legs on a surface using the index and ring fingers,” the authors explained.
“Displays such as screens and mobile devices are present in our lives for working, learning, or entertainment. Having three-dimensional graphics that can be directly manipulated has applications in education – for instance, visualising and assembling the parts of an engine. Moreover, multiple users can interact collaboratively without the need for virtual reality headsets. These displays could be particularly useful in museums, for example, where visitors can simply approach and interact with the content.”
This is not a way to create a holodeck and be completely immersed in a hologram that you can manipulate. For the effect to work, you need to be looking into it. Still, this could become a larger screen system that you can put your hands in to change stuff.
A paper with these results was presented at the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.
Source Link: You Can Now Manipulate A Hologram By “Holding” It In Display Breakthrough