Apple move towards hologram displays

Look around your office hallway or college campus and you’ll see people holding interactive panes of glass. Smartphones and tablets, so revolutionary a few years ago, are quickly becoming commodities. Apple (AAPL) is now locked in a fierce patent battle with Samsung over tablet designs—a sure sign that, whoever is right, touchscreens are converging into gadgets that look like everything else.

So as Apple prepares to launch its next iPhone in September, with a slightly bigger screen, here is a prediction—Apple devices will soon project holograms like you’ve never seen. This is not mere speculation, but insight based on Apple’s patents, recent acquisitions, and the business imperative to do something to break free of the tablet clutter.

In November 2010, Apple patented a three-dimensional display system that would “mimic a hologram” without requiring special glasses. The patent narrative is fascinating, noting that one current market gap in screen technology is the ability of a device to project stereoscopic 3D images to multiple viewers at the same time.

Apple proposed an elegant solution: match a forward-facing camera/sensor that tracks the location of different viewers’ eyes, similar to how Microsoft’s (MSFT) Kinect monitors body movements or new digital cameras recognize human faces, with a screen that can send out beams of light at different angles. Voilà! Each eye of each viewer receives a different angle of the image, and suddenly Princess Leia would appear to beam out of R2-D2 and float in the air.

I know what you’re thinking—3D screens have been around for a while, but consumers have not flocked to them. Overall, television sales are in a slump (LCD sales were down 3 percent worldwide in the first quarter after years of 20 percent growth), and consumers who recently upgraded to flat panels did not rush out to buy the 3D versions manufacturers dreamed would goose the market. Even 3D tech that doesn’t require glasses has not sold well; Nintendo (NTDOY) sales of its 3DS gaming device, which floats images without glasses, were so anemic in 2011 that it dropped the price from $250 to $170 just five months after launch.

If 3D has been such a yawn, why would Apple get involved? There are three main reasons.

Apple is the second-mover that makes failed first-mover ideas work. Apple lifted the idea for the mouse from Xerox, streamlined it, coated the rotating ball in rubber so it would be quiet on a desktop, and dropped the price. Apple launched its touchscreen iPhone and iPad years after Microsoft tried to go to market in 2002 with a pen-based Tablet PC. Apple redesigns technology to remove the rough edges, and consumers respond in droves. Toshiba is now selling a 55-inch 3D television in Asia that doesn’t require glasses for viewing the effect. Do you think Apple will let such advances in screen technology pass it by?

Second, Apple’s hologram technology will be different—and completely realistic. The Apple patent states, “Each viewer could be presented … with complete freedom of movement … without the need for special viewing goggles or headgear.”

Read that as the hologram will remain realistic even if you and your friends move around the room, and you won’t look like a doofus watching it. The Apple patent also explains how the monitoring sensor would pick up and replicate ambient lighting in the room—creating, say, a projection of a business colleague floating at your conference table with light from the window gleaming in her hair.

Finally, in perhaps its most unique trick, the Apple hologram system would detect who is watching, and be able to display different images to different people. The patent says “individual observers … can be uniquely identified based upon distinctive personal characteristics (e.g., height, shoulder width, distinctive outline, etc.),” allowing outbound beamed projections to be changed for each observer. This would enable everything from private holograms to personalized advertising. In business video calls, you could project yourself in a suit for the upper executives in the room and a more relaxed view of yourself in jeans for the younger tech hipsters.

Apple must forge a new direction, because not only will its patent lawyers have difficulty claiming rights to all tablet designs, the touchscreen may soon be obsolete.Walt Disney (DIS), not known for being a gadget leader, recently announced its R&D division has developed “swept frequency capacitive sensing” that turns virtually any material into a touchscreen. Called Touché, the system would allow couches, doorknobs, clothing, and even water to sense your movement or finger swipes, making touchscreens irrelevant. If you can type on a tabletop, the need for a tablet may disappear.

Beyond its 3D patent, Apple has acquired 3D modeling businesses such as C3 Technologies and Poly9, both known for building photorealistic images of the world.C3 Technologies, for instance, used declassified military technology and aerial photography to model any potential mountain, building, or home in three dimensions—reportedly accurate to within 6 inches. Apple’s upcoming map apps could be more interesting than you expect.

Apple also has a monetary incentive to chase 3D: True screen differentiation would boost sales of all Apple products. Apple could finally break into the television market and own the living room; holography could unlock revenue streams from business communications, with Apple “reality projection” videoconferencing making Skype look like a telegraph. Apple has been rumored for years to be developing real TV sets, but needs a way to break into the saturated big-screen market. If its holography were to top Toshiba’s design, there surely would be interest.

As tablets become commodities, it’s not hard to predict the design battle will move from hardware to the virtual visual realm. Even Sir Jonathan Ive can take glass panes only so far. I don’t know if an iPhone 5 will hold holograms, but eventually Apple will serve us 3D images—because while anyone can copy a glass tablet, not everyone can make the world float in your hand.

By Ben Kunz on August 07, 2012  

Bring out your dead

Recently we worked on resurrection hologram of Morecombe and Wise - famous Brit comedians for the BBC. Tupac broke boundaries in a fully artificial head - now there is talk of more afterlife performances.

DARKtube.org Extended free video search!

Dircks and Pepper's Ghost

I came across a reference to an intriguing invention of the 19^th century involving plate glass which was used by theatrical companies. Called Pepper’s Ghost, it first appeared on stage in a production of Charles Dickens’ The Haunted Man in 1862.

The plate glass (which was so clear as to be invisible to the audience) was placed at an angle on stage, reflecting the image of an actor in a pit below the stage. When the ghost was ready to make its appearance, the room beneath the stage would be brightened, allowing the” ghost” (or reflection of the actor) to appear suddenly to the audience.

Image from Eyes, Lies and Illusions: the Art of Deception. 2004. This excellent history of “optical wizardry” reproduces a number of images of early optics research. This engraving of Pepper’s Ghost originally appeared in Die Physik in Bildern Eßlingen (1881). Rakow Research Library.

Pepper’s Ghost got its name from a scientist at the Royal Polytechnic Institute, John Henry Pepper. Pepper had recently seen an invention by engineer Henry Dircks who had the idea to use plate glass to create the illusion of ghosts.

Theatrical performances involving supernatural elements, called Phantasmagoria, were popular at the time, but Dircks’ invention proved too expensive to be of interest to theatres. Pepper, however, was able to modify the invention so that it was affordable for theaters to install. He and Dircks filed a patent and Pepper’s Ghost became the rage of London, and– rather quickly– other cities world-wide. P.T. Barnum, in his account of Humbugs of the World (1866), refers to “Professor Pepper, at the Royal Polytechnic Institute, in London, [who] invented a most ingenious device for producing ghosts which should walk about upon the stage in such a perfectly astounding manner as to throw poor Hamlet’s father… quite into the ‘shade.’ ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ soon crossed the Atlantic, and all our theatres were speedily alive with nocturnal apparitions” (quoted from the Gutenberg Project’s edition of Humbugs of the World).

Dircks himself wrote in his publication, The Ghost (1863) that the illusion was so popular that the Thames Plate Glass Company had completely sold out of the large plates of glass necessary for performing the stage trick.

Barnum wrote about Pepper’s Ghost as if it were merely an entertainment, but Professor Pepper and Dircks saw the Ghost as a means to educate audiences about scientific principles of physics, light and optics. Other scientists, like Augustin Privat-Deschanel, in his Elementary Treatise on Natural Philosophy, made reference to Pepper’s Ghost as well, describing it as one of several “ingenious illusions that have been contrived” which rely on “the laws of reflection from plane surfaces” (From the Internet Archive). Pepper’s Ghost is still studied by illusionists and magicians today. Disney even adopted it for use in the Haunted Mansion in the 1960s to create the illusion of ghosts in its grand ballroom!*

September 11, 2012 by Regan Brumagen

Dead politicians and holograms: The next frontier?

Posted at 11:33 AM ET, 06/15/2012  - Washington Post

By Suzi Parker

Elvis will soon be back in the building – in hologram form, no less.

Billboard magazine recently reported that Digital Domain Media Group is teaming up with the company that owns Elvis’s brand to “jointly produce a series of ‘virtual’ Elvis likenesses for a range of entertainment projects.” The same tech company brought late rap star Tupac Shakur, singing alongside the very-much-alive Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, to music festival Coachella this year. His appearance shocked attendees and became a global phenomenon.

But forget dead rock stars. It’s certainly only a matter of time before political parties invest in this technology. Holograms could take political fundraising to a new level.

Imagine the fundraising ability for Republicans if a hologram of Ronald Reagan existed. He could talk about the shining city on the hill or morning in America in 3-D. Those who never saw Reagan in person would pack fundraisers to hear him give his greatest speeches. A candidate could literally say that Reagan endorses him or her. The money would rain into a campaign.

Or what if Democrats could bring back John F. Kennedy? He could stand beside a presidential candidate and say with certainty, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” The photo op would be priceless.

An even weirder thought: What if holograms allowed living, breathing politicians to be in more than one place at once?

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney could campaign in multiple battleground states at the same time. They could visit all of the 50 states, the territories and every Democratic and Republican dinner in the country. Numerous articles cite the Tupac hologram cost between $100,000 and $400,000 – a drop in the bucket in politics.

According to reports, the hologram technology used at Coachella to create Tupac was a combination of recorded live footage and CGI, creating a life-like visual effect that was downright life-like and creepy.New Scientist magazine reports that the company responsible for Tupac used a system created by Musion, a London company. The entire process, according to New Scientist, is based on a 19th century magic trick, Pepper’s ghost, that makes virtual images appear live on a stage.

Mind-boggling, yes? Impossible? No.

The New Scientist reported in 2011 that digital humans are the wave of the future. They wrote: “Actors will soon be able to record their likeness, potentially allowing them to star in films long after their death.” In fact, it’s been reported that a Marilyn Monroe hologram may perform later this year with live musicians.

So could politicians. What if Bill Clinton recorded footage in the next few years that future politicians could use for political cycles in the future? What if the real Clinton stood next to the deceased Kennedy at a campaign bash? The combinations are endless.

On Election Night in 2008, singer will.i.am appeared on CNN in hologram form to tell Anderson Cooper about his support of Obama. Reporter Jessica Yelin also appeared and joked that she was following the tradition of Star Wars’ Princess Leia.

People laughed then. Techies criticized CNN, saying that the channel, the first to use this type of technology, wasn’t really using true holograms. Maybe this November, the channel will have invested in true holograms.

Corporate Venues UK has a Web page dedicated to video conferencing in 3-D. “In a holographic meeting, you will be able to see life-size images of people standing and walking about in the 3D physical space of the meeting room, and several-foot-wide volumetric 3D images will appear to float in mid-air,” the site states.

Politicians have long been considered plastic and fake. Often, what you see isn’t what you get in politics. Brace yourself for high-tech insincerity.

Suzi Parker is an Arkansas-based political and cultural journalist and author of “Sex in the South: Unbuckling the Bible Belt.” Follow her on Twitter at @SuziParker.

By Suzi Parker  |  11:33 AM ET, 06/15/2012 

3D hologram projections Q + A

With many of the latest big budget cinema releases being available in 3D, and everyone talking about the 3D future of television, many eyes are starting to focus on 3D hologram projections… without the glasses!

Where does this technology originate from?

3D holographic projection technology is loosely based on an illusionary technique called “Peppers Ghost”, and was first used in Victorian theatres across London in the 1860s. Pepper’s Ghost was typically used to create ghost-like figures on stage. Hidden from the audience’s view, an actor dressed in a ghostly costume would stand facing an angled plate of glass. The audience would be able to see the glass, but not the actor directly. Specifically angled lighting would reflect the actor’s image into the plate of glass, a transparent ghost like reflection would appear in front of the audience. Cutting or fading the lighting could also add to the ghostly effect.

How is this technology used today?

With the use of the latest HD projectors, CGI animation, specialist HD film techniques and special effects created in post production, Pepper’s Ghost technology has been upgraded to the 21st century. Instead of a real object or person’s reflection appearing on a plate of glass, high definition video and CGI animation is beamed directly onto a specially designed, chemically treated transparent film via a high power HD projector. Although much more expensive, this modern approach results in a much clearer, believable hologram projection.

What kind of images can be projected as holograms?
Due to the modern approach of projecting CGI animations and pre-recorded footage, almost anything is possible. The “blank canvas” approach is often adopted, creating a storyboard only limited by imagination. The storyboard can then be handed over to a CGI animation team who can make it come to life using the latest 3D software such as Maya or 3ds-Max.

Real people can be filmed giving a speech, dance or presentation for example , and then be projected as 3D holograms. Holographic special effects can be added in post production to make a life-like person beam into the room, Star Trek style, or have their product appear and spin above their head at the click of their fingers.

Who have used 3D Holographic projections and why?

Christian Laboutin used a hologram at his 2012 retrospective exhibition in London's Design Museum. This formed a centre piece exhibit which acted as a focal point in offering visitors a truly unique experience. You can see the hologram which features Dita von Teese film here.

Speedo International Limited, commissioned SquareZero to create an enthralling presentation on the Musion Eyeliner System for the Launch of Speedo’s new swimsuit: The Fastskin LZR Racer. The launch, also celebrating Speedo’s 80th year, took place globally in New York, London, Sydney and Tokyo

Frank Sinatra was brought holographically back from the dead to perform at the 50th birthday party of entertainment mogul Simon Cowell. Since this first 'resurrection' in 2009 of course we have also seen Tupac which has raised the bar on this highly specialised visual effects work.

What range of sizes can the holographic projections be displayed in?

This technology has been known to scale down to as small as a ten inch hologram display. The smaller range of holographic display units, ranging from ten inches to television sized monitors are predominantly used for retail, exhibitions and point of sale. Famous brand companies such as Diesel, have used this type of holographic display in their shop windows.

One of the largest holographic projections to date was made by SquareZero for a large BT conference at the Birmingham NEC featured three separate HD projections playing together over 20 metres wide and synched to combine seamlessly using some very sophisticated playback technology. By increasing the size of the stage and number of projectors, there is no limit to the maximum size of the holographic projection displays.

Which other technologies are being used together with 3D hologram projections?

SquareZero and Musion Systems, the London based holographic projection specialists, have recently developed motion capture systems to couple 3D holographic projections. Motion capture systems are far from a new technology. An actor wearing a motion capture suit can have his/her movements picked up via various sensors. These movements can then be played back in real time onto a screen in the form of an animated character. Working with hologram display technology, these characters can become life size 3D holographic animated characters, both technologies working together perfectly to complement each other.

Hologram projection displays have also recently seen advances in audience interactivity. Using a wireless remote control, the holographic projections can be moved around the stage, rotated on their x and y axis, and can even be programmed to start or stop an animation on the click of a button.

What is the future of 3D holographic projection?
3D holographic projection technology clearly has a big future ahead. As this audio visual display continues to get high profile credibility, we are likely to see more companies advertising their products or marketing their business in this way. Whether it be large scale, big budget product launches or smaller retail POS systems, they are likely to become a common feature in the advertising world.

Where can I see an example of this technology?
A 3D holographic projection demonstration can be seen at Musion Systems private holographic screening stage near Oxford Circus in London. To arrange a viewing contact us via our website www.squarezero.co.uk or send an email to info@squarezero.co.uk

A modern Pepper's Ghost

The holographic projection effect is just another chapter in the Pepper’s Ghost tale which started in London during the 1800’s with John Derek & John Pepper. Back then large panes of glass were used to reflect the light from an object onto a stage but, glass was very delicate and dangerous to work with not to mention produced ghostly artifacts.

All these problems have been solved in our time. If he were here today, he would no doubt be amazed at how little the basic fundamentals of the illusion have changed. Of course, we possess polymers that were unknown to him as well as ultra high light engines to maximize the effect. This, combined with digital animation, make for a show that has no equal.

The modern materials and VFX techniques deliver stunning video effect imagery of such clarity and high resolution, your audience will have a hard time telling what is real and what is reflected.

Future presentation technology

When you consider a future with hologram technology, the possibilities seem endless. Holographic projections will bring the creative element of your message and brand to an all time high. By enhancing your product and message with hologram illusion technology, your audience will be captivated 100 times more. With the birth of holographic production services, the future of product promotion, brand presentation, and education is forever changed.


The creative aspects offered though our unique hologram technology immediately transports you into a world of super communication. No longer are you constrained by reality, geography, safety, or mortality. With our illusion effect, monumental figures in history can now be brought back to life and inspire audiences in a realistic setting.


Popular lectures, presentations and musical events are no longer inhibited by the laws of nature. When hologram content is applied, your brand and message aspires to uncharted waters. Ask yourself; which event would you tweet about? The one with a basic power-point presentation, or the one enhanced with hologram characters, animals and/or historic figures?


There are many ways we can generate your hologram footage. Images can be created using CGI technology, archived video and film footage, or simply creating new video footage with the hologram feature in mind. Once you connect with holograms, you begin creating outside the box of video, 2d projection and reality in general. The journey of fun and possibilities begins, when hologram illusion products are applied.

this article taken from Hologramics site in the US