. . . they always picture holograms as free-standing, 3-D projections? (Frequently blurry, with lines running through them, like on a badly adjusted, low-def TV set? I'm thinking of you, George Lucas.)
Actually, real-world holograms tend to be flat (e.g., printed on a flat surface, like your credit card), but you see the 3-D effect if you stare into them.
The other kind, the kind you see in sci-fi, is known as a volumetric display.
We only have the beginnings of that technology now.
In sci-fi, volumetric displays are often portrayed as insubstantial projections, presumably of laser light.
Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."
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Very cool. I’ve thought about volumetric displays, but had no idea they really existed. I want one!
When I saw all those spots before my eyes, I thought I was getting Rabbititis.
I don’t think I quite understand the video. What is the project–creating volumetric displays by means of hundreds of glowing helicopters?
Yep! That’s the idea!
The Flyfire thing is all conceptual as yet, right?
That’s correct. The article makes it clearer than the video. They have the tiny copters, apparently, but have yet to scale up the process so that can manipulate them in large numbers. The video illustrates what they want to do.
Still cool. It does make me think a little about how the technology might be used by, say, police or military. What if these things could sting?
I’m seeing something like Hitchcock’s The Birds (*shudder*).
Fortunately, the military doesn’t like horror shows either. They have autonomous armed robots called SWORDS. Soldiers refuse to turn on the autonomous mode much preferring the direct control allowed by telepresence.
What I foresee is huge television and movie ads in the airspace above major cities. Not cool at all. Remember, Blade Runner was a dystopian future.
Now maybe Christo and Jeanne Claude would know something cool to do with them.
. . . they always picture holograms as free-standing, 3-D projections? (Frequently blurry, with lines running through them, like on a badly adjusted, low-def TV set? I'm thinking of you, George Lucas.)
That flyfire thing is amazing.
This from ‘Bones’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3D4Cx1p0bc is a good representation (I think) of a volumetric display.
Very cool. I’ve thought about volumetric displays, but had no idea they really existed. I want one!
When I saw all those spots before my eyes, I thought I was getting Rabbititis.
I don’t think I quite understand the video. What is the project–creating volumetric displays by means of hundreds of glowing helicopters?
Yep! That’s the idea!
The Flyfire thing is all conceptual as yet, right?
That’s correct. The article makes it clearer than the video. They have the tiny copters, apparently, but have yet to scale up the process so that can manipulate them in large numbers. The video illustrates what they want to do.
Still cool. It does make me think a little about how the technology might be used by, say, police or military. What if these things could sting?
I’m seeing something like Hitchcock’s The Birds (*shudder*).
Fortunately, the military doesn’t like horror shows either. They have autonomous armed robots called SWORDS. Soldiers refuse to turn on the autonomous mode much preferring the direct control allowed by telepresence.
What I foresee is huge television and movie ads in the airspace above major cities. Not cool at all. Remember, Blade Runner was a dystopian future.
Now maybe Christo and Jeanne Claude would know something cool to do with them.