[Nobody's Confidant (OP)]

In Star Wars you always see holograms everywhere. The Jedi even talk with them, like a telephone. Is this possible? Holograms are very popular in many sci-fi films.

[techmind]

You can't quite have holograms absolutely anywhere, such as floating in completely open space. You can only see a holographic image within the boundaries of the holographic plate - the image may be in front or behind.

A relatively recent development has been computer-generated animated/moving holograms. I haven't seen them first-hand, but I believe the car industry is sponsoring the development of such systems (for product visualisation). You need extremely high-resolution display-devices (I think one system "tiles" multiple images from an already high-resolution digital-mirror-device) and enormous amounts of computing power.

[Quantum_Vaccuum]

they do have semi holograms, the hey light emiting stuff, and sprinkle water all over it to show the light in 3 dimensional ways, but meanwhile, no you can't talk to these 'holograms'

[techmind]

You can have various "volumetric" 3D displays; you normally have a spinning disk or spinning single-turn helix (which sweeps a volume) and then project a modulated light/laser source onto that spinning surface in order to place the light spot in 3D. The technology is fairly simple, if somewhat clumsy. This would be a relatively easy way to do a 3D "talking head".

As a "projection" type display you'll still need a white/diffuse spinning surface, which will be lit up by the ambient light - although there are several tricks you could use to reduce this problem. Alternatively your spinning surface could comprise a 2D array of lightsources, the display being synchronised with the rotation. An LED array could work; an LCD panel would be far too slow.

[yor_on]

I read that in Japan you have a working 3D on some phones (Sony?)
They create it by 'lightning' up pixels oriented to be seen by your left respective right eye.
Thereby creating a 'depth'. The downside is that you have to be inside a very limited perimeter for you to see that 3D. But it's presumably cheap, and so cool:)
--------

But for it to be 'true' 3D it has to be photographed in 3D too?
I don't know if their phones can do that or if it's just some clever manipulations of 2D...

[RD]

http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=15622.0

[yor_on]

Very cool.
and extremely nice.

but where are our masters?
those mice:)


said 43
Awh.

It is after all almost a (?) Saturday
Sunday.
?

Need to get glasses.
And some more, you know what...

Sense?
But cool anyway, thanks.