Scientists from Tokyo University of Agriculture & Technology have figured out how to make a futuristic hologram display similar to the iconic “Star Wars” scene where Princess Leia calls for help.
The team developed the ‘first true hologram movie’ of the Earth spinning on its axis, using carefully-crafted nanomaterials to bend light in a way no natural material could accomplish. The research is published in the journal Optics Express.
For now, the display isn’t cinematographically perfect. It’s only a 48-frame loop of a red spinning globe and looks similar to the wireframe graphics of the Nintendo Virtual Boy, which was considered a failure in the 1990s. The hologram itself is low quality, but what it lacks in art, it makes up for in technology.
How does the laser create the pattern of a globe? By using nanomaterials that have tiny scales, which are smaller than the wavelength of the red laser’s light. Making the material takes a lot of time; the scientists suggest it would take at least 800 hours to prepare a six-minute hologram. Regardless, the team has high hopes that it will only improve from here on out.
Engineer Kentaro Iwami, the study’s author, said:
The aim is to develop this to produce full color eventually. And, we want it to be viewable from any angle: a ‘whole hemisphere’ 3-D projection.
Other teams have built real holograms, including engineers from Brigham Young University, who used “Optical Trap Display” to create volumetric images. This process Involves lasers trapping a tiny particle in free space and forcing it to move in a path. Then, colorful lasers illuminate the particle as it moves ultra-fast, creating the illusion of a solid, animated holographic image.
However, the spinning globe is much more sophisticated, and unlike celebrity holograms, it can be viewed from almost every angle and doesn’t need 3D glasses or a VR headset to see it.
