3D Holograms Coming to Your Phone from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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3D Holograms Coming to Your Phone from a Galaxy Far, Far Away



Playing and interacting with a 3D image projected from your phone may not be science fiction after all.

MasterImage 3D is best-known in Hollywood for its 3D projectors, but it is now developing a technology that seemed pretty far-fetched when Chewbacca played holographic chess with R2-D2, or when the projection of Leia pleaded to Obi Wan Kenobi. The new and as yet unnamed technology will allow a phone or a tablet like the iPad to project an image that you can interact with by merely touching it. Games using this tech are a no-brainer, but web-browsing and other daily tasks will also be possible. MasterImage 3D will debut the technology at Mobile World Congress from Feb. 14-17 in Barcelona.

"If you take the screen and lay it flat, it projects the holographic object around your device, and you can interact with it," said Roy Taylor from MasterImage.

He's made the tech available to software companies and they're already spinning their wheels on coming up with applications using 3D images. "Software companies are already working on productivity enhancements with touch," Taylor said. "This will be the evolution of how we interface with consumer-electronics devices."

The only stumbling block for Taylor's plan might be the lack of 3D capability for most phones, but he's working on a graphics chip that can provide the extra oomph without costing your first born's college education. "I think we can get a 3D phone down to around $150," he said.

You know, when you think about it, touching a 3D image to manipulate a game is even more advanced than Star Wars. I mean, even R2 had to use his information plunger thingy to play the game and when Luke touched the hologram of Leia she just disappeared. Next thing you know we'll come up with an engine that lets us make the Kessel run in less than 9 parsecs.

Source: Hollywood Reporter [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-like-3d-holograms-98104?]

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Smooth Operator

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Oct 5, 2010
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Well those are all neat wishes, but nowhere is it described how it actually works, if it works at all.

"If you take the screen and lay it flat, it projects the holographic object around your device, and you can interact with it," - ya that statement makes no sense outside the realm of magic, so can anyone guess what they mean?
 

Ekit

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Oct 19, 2009
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Hope this means we're not far from the computer screens in Avatar.
 

For.I.Am.Mad

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May 8, 2010
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I won't be satisfied until I can match wits with a holographic Professor Moriarty that becomes self aware.
 

Baby Tea

Just Ask Frankie
Sep 18, 2008
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Greg Tito said:
Next thing you know we'll come up with an engine that lets us make the Kessel run in less than 9 parsecs.
It's 12! 12 Parsecs! Not 9!
But I do appreciate the reference.

And I also like the idea of this phone!
Now just imagine having it in a coffee table to play DND on! WOO!
 

Cpu46

Gloria ex machina
Sep 21, 2009
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Squeeeeeeeeeee
WANT, WANT, WANT, WANT, WAAAAAAANT!!!!
/nerd excitement explosion

*deep breath*

Seriously this is the tech I have been dreaming of. Damn just plain non interactive holograms would have been enough to get this reaction out of me.

*Prays that it works the way they make it sound*
 

Danpascooch

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Apr 16, 2009
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Mr.K. said:
Well those are all neat wishes, but nowhere is it described how it actually works, if it works at all.

"If you take the screen and lay it flat, it projects the holographic object around your device, and you can interact with it," - ya that statement makes no sense outside the realm of magic, so can anyone guess what they mean?
Yeah that statement doesn't really give you a clear image of how exactly it can be "interacted with" for all we know they mean "If something gets in the way of the hologram the device will know" and that's it, for all we know they are simply talking about a single true false value for "image blocked" or "image not blocked" and are trying to make it sound like the omni tool interface in Mass Effect.
 

bladester1

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Feb 5, 2008
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Oh GOD. We are one more step to the end of humanity. Virtual Girlfriends that you can acutally bang are on their way. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DAMN YOU HOLODECKS!

EH HEM......

Anyway. That is pretty cool and only for around 150 bucks, sweet!
 

Daemascus

WAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!
Mar 6, 2010
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This sounds great but im gonna need to see a video before i beleive it. Its sounds alot like the holographic design table in the first Ironman movie.
 

Danpascooch

Zombie Specialist
Apr 16, 2009
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Something wrong is here, this sounds too good.

Saying you can get a phone with this mysterious technology down to $150 is like saying you can get a car that flies down to $8000

my point is, most new phones that CAN'T project magical interactive holograms are over $150, so that claim kind of makes me wonder how much of this entire press release is true.

I'll believe it when I can see a video of someone interacting with a prototype, till then I'm a skeptic.
 

mjc0961

YOU'RE a pie chart.
Nov 30, 2009
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.... Okay. I'm just going to stick with my mouse and keyboard over here. It sounds a lot more intuitive than poking at some 3D projection and hoping it works properly. I mean this just sounds like that whole Uncharted on NGP video all over again: "Rub the back of the device repeatedly to climb a vine, so intuitive!" No, creepy translation voice. Pushing the stick up is intuitive. Giving my game device a massage, not so much. Same with poking at some weird 3D thing.

But hey, maybe I'm just turning into some old timer who's stuck in his ways.
 

Voodoomancer

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Jun 8, 2009
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Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

...and I thought a normal iPhone cost a bunch. The iPhone Holo... o,0
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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Greg Tito said:
Next thing you know we'll come up with an engine that lets us make the Kessel run in less than 9 parsecs.
Parsecs are a distance, not time length. (/pedant)

Anyways: Cool. I'd be more enthused, but I already know what the pornographic implications are.
 

Anarchemitis

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Dec 23, 2007
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Life imitates art, because really smart people like Engineers and Scientists need artists to inspire them to what to use their knowledge for.
 

gigastar

Insert one-liner here.
Sep 13, 2010
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Holy shit, its a nerds dream.

But I would love try navigating the net using a touch and drag setup.

Todays captcha: THOM oleasho. Are theese even words in any language?
 

Braedan

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Sep 14, 2010
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Interactive Holographic displays with brain wave controllers added in.... I've got a boner....
 

gl1koz3

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May 24, 2010
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I bet it will be just visible when you're looking at the screen, hence the "if you lie it flat". Just a screen with many more parallax barriers or what.
 

Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Baby Tea said:
Greg Tito said:
Next thing you know we'll come up with an engine that lets us make the Kessel run in less than 9 parsecs.
It's 12! 12 Parsecs! Not 9!
But I do appreciate the reference.

And I also like the idea of this phone!
Now just imagine having it in a coffee table to play DND on! WOO!
Oh I know the real reference. I was suggesting that technology would become even more advanced than the Millennium Falcon.