Holograms: Fiction or Reality?

On November 4th, an historical event occurred as many people anxiously awaited the results of the election. Obama, being the first African American to be nominated and run for office was unprecedented. In addition to this historical event, CNN also revealed some new technology that might bring every Star Wars fan’s fantasy into a reality. They managed to ‘beam’ a person on to the set as they were covering the election.

The hologram wasn’t actually a physical hologram, but a virtual hologram. CNN was able to merge two video feeds into one but needless to say, it may become possible in the near future to have physical holograms. How they managed to produce this hologram was to have around 35 cameras situated on a ring covering all different angles. But a more physical hologram was presented earlier in the year by Telstra, an Australian phone company. Telstra used a HD video camera that was able to ‘beam’ their chief technology officer to a business meeting. The video was then sent in real time across Telstra's high-speed network to an optical projector in Adelaide where the 3D life-size image appeared and interacted with the audience.

This new technology not only changes the way people communicate with each other, but also how we interact with others and how we conduct formal meetings and the like. Instead of having to meet up with the person if they are far away, they can just project the person’s image and you can interact with them; making this even more personal than talking to a video recording or a person’s image on a screen. Also holograms could be used a number of ways, giving tours, advertising, sales, etc. which allows for more flexibility for newer types of multimedia and interaction with one another.

http://gizmodo.com/5076663/how-the-cnn-holographic-interview-system-works

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9955821-7.html