Brooklyn/Hong Kong-based studio Looking Glass Factory has released Portrait: the world’s first personal holographic display. It’s the company’s second device to become available. Last year, it launched a larger 32-inch, 8K-resolution 3D light-field display for entertainment, retail, and medical imaging. The Portrait is powered by innovative light field technology, which allows users to transform any 2D image into a 3D hologram —no experience required.
Shawn Frayne, Looking Glass Factory CEO, said:
Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of the moment that I’d be able to have a holographic display of my own. I imagined what it would be like to send someone a holographic birthday message or to say hello as a hologram to my great-great-great-granddaughter. Looking Glass Portrait, the culmination of six years of work by our Brooklyn and Hong Kong-based team, makes those dreams real for more people than ever before.
The project is aimed at designers, artists, filmmakers, developers, photographers, and anyone who wants to experiment with 3D capture and creation. And while the company’s previous holographic display needed advanced hardware, this one doesn’t. You only need a smartphone and computer.
Frayne said:
You don’t need to know how to program to use this holographic display.
It’s also viewable by multiple people since it generates up to 100 different perspectives of a 3D image simultaneously. Each person gets a unique stereoscopic view of the hologram onscreen. Sony recently released a similar product, the Spatial Reality Display, but only one person can view it because it works by tracking the user’s eyes. Plus, it costs thousands of dollars, whereas The Looking Glass Portrait can be preordered for $249 on Indiegogo.
The device works even if it’s not connected to a computer thanks to its built-in Raspberry Pi computer and software combo. However, to run more demanding 3D content, a connection to a PC or Mac is necessary. It supports Autodesk, Maya, Unreal Engine, Unity, Blender, and more so developers can create interactive presentations.
When you buy the device, it comes with HoloPlay Studio software for PC/Mac – a program that allows users to upload and edit content, then export it to the Portrait. Even family photos can be turned into holographic images! Furthermore, the device supports Intel RealSense, Azure Kinect, and iPhone cameras for recording holographic video messages that can be shared with other Portrait owners.
The Looking Glass Portrait shipping is estimated to begin in March/April 2021.
