Touchable holograms are not just science fiction anymore
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Although holograms are not so ‘sci-fi’ anymore, the world wasn’t actually expecting to see so soon how scientists from Japan create touchable hologram.
Although we are far from the era when holograms seemed to be too futuristic, touchable holograms still seem quite far-fetched for our daily lives. But a team of Japanese scientists have recently managed to create 3D virtual objects that we can sense with our hands.
This creation was made possible through the femtosecond laser technology. This technology allows a very high frequency of laser pulses to travel at a millionth of a billionth part of a second. The lasers direct voxels which are very small points in certain direction in order to produce images that have a resolution of up to 200,000 dots per second. The lasers are directed with the help of a combination of mirrors and cameras. These pulses respond to human touch. Therefore the pixels of the hologram can be manipulated at any point in mid-air.
Other previous attempts of interactive holograms have failed because when they touched, the laser beams burned the human skin. However, this is no longer the case and such a development in technology can ease our work. For example, a touchable hologram would be incredibly helpful in medicine. Imagine doctors will be able to create holograms of particular organs affected by disease or tumors they will be able to see more clearly and therefore will have no surprises when operating. Or, if used in construction, again the touchable hologram could be very useful, helping engineers and architects to see exactly, at a smaller scale how their building looks and whether it needs improvements. Of course, such holograms can also be used in entertainment, simply for having fun.
By touching the hologram you can even make changes in it as you become a part of the laser circuit. So you can add or delete parts of the hologram if needed.
Although it is now possible to touch a hologram, such a technology is still out of reach for us. Regardless of the domain we work in, we will probably have to wait at least a few more years to literally get our hand on a touchable hologram.
Image source: www.bing.com