Remember the scene in the movie Minority Report where Tom Cruise uses a 3D holographic interface to track down people before they commit crimes? True holographic projection technology is still years away from being a reality, but some Japanese scientists are at least headed in the right direction.
It’s not exactly a hologram, but Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has developed a 3D display that uses intersecting infrared lasers to create small amounts of plasma emission in mid air. By controlling the position of the focal point in the x-, y-, and z-axes, the visible plasma dots are capable of forming letters and simple shapes in 3D-space.
If you attended SIGGRAPH 2006 then you might have already seen this fancy laser projector on display. If not, here’s your chance. Check out the video here.
It’s probably only a matter of time until advertisers start utilizing this technology as a form of nighttime skywriting.
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Frank Wilson is a retired teacher with over 30 years of combined experience in the education, small business technology, and real estate business. He now blogs as a hobby and spends most days tinkering with old computers. Wilson is passionate about tech, enjoys fishing, and loves drinking beer.
Well, good news for me, thanks!
Well, good news for me, thanks!