Researchers Envision 3-D Hologram Phone

Chad Gray copies and pastes "It's an idea that was popularized by Princess Leia's plea for help in Star Wars: sending a 3-D hologram. Now, two Japanese scientists have developed technology they hope will one day turn the humble telephone booth into a high-tech chamber for beaming holographic images."

Comments

Re:I want to be heard, not seen.

[tonsofpcs]

I do agree with this, but for the 3d design community [for movies and otherwise], this would be a great way to show models being worked on to an art director on the road without sending him/her a 3d model and requiring him/her to render, or sending a batch of renders.

Finally a use for a Booth

[Gopal.V]

Since the arrival of the mobile phone (with the worthy hands free) , the telephone booths have been dying out (or at least its time is numbered).... Except for Ransom calls nothing else would use booths if the current trend kept up :)

Interestingly, I think a "virtual" hologram system which'd use a 3-D head mount with all the 3D movements in software would be easier. Would be like playing an FPS , in the real world where we can walk around a "virtual" image of a real thing.

I'd love a panorama that I can view by turning my head around (think about the IR camera system in Apache Longbow, but on a still image so to speak).

Where is the picture?

[qualico]

Sure wish they would put a conceptual diagram or rendered picture of said technology.

I'm too lazy with my imagination. :->
Just spoon feed me will ya!

We are so far behind, its too much to ask... I know. :-(

This is AWESOME!

[philovivero]

Now, two Japanese scientists have developed technology they hope will one day turn the humble telephone booth into a high-tech chamber for beaming holographic images.

The next logical step is clear: move all motion picture screenings into these telephone booths with holographic images!

Soon, movie theatres will disappear, giving way to cramped little booths with people watching movies, having to pause halfway through to step out and sit down to take the weight off their feet.

Or, wait. Is this whole beamed holographic image thing just a big thought experiment? In that case, can't we just replace the stupid phone booth concept entirely? I mean, it isn't like we can't get throw-away cellphones for ten bucks at the corner store. Where's the forward thinking from these so-called smart researcher sorts? Porn. Naked, writhing women.

May crop overweight people, may normalize width

[hajihill]

The viewing cylinder is about ten inches high with an eight inch circumference. That works out to roughly 2.5 inches in diameter.

Okay, so this works out fine for people that are, let's say (the height is arbitrary, not taken from article), up to 6'2" inches tall, and are a little more than 1.5 feet wide, or 4.8 feet (about 58 inches) in circumference, but any more than that and you will have some cropping taking effect.

In fact, would the image simply be stretched across the cylinder, or would it appear normal from different angles? In the case that it would appear stretched it would simply normalize the width of all viewed through this device. This would likely be very unflattering for most, and in any case it would be a bit unflattering for at least a few (albeit a small portion of the population if it was only the very overweight).

Something else to consider is that over the course of human existence and the existence of communication as a whole the trend has been towards: A) less personal interaction, and B) quicker communication of details. From speaking, to writing, then Morse code, radio telegraph, then telephone (quite possibly an anomaly to this trend, but very quick, so maybe not), then email and instant messaging (the best of both worlds). It may very well be safe to assume that this won't catch on, but then again, we never know what will be deemed the most desirable in the tech world.

Re:I want to be heard, not seen.

[Anonymous Coward]

I still think that this is doomed to failure as the average person doesn't want to be seen in their natural state.

• Cigarette companies are doomed to failure bacause the average person doesn't want a cigarette.
• Macs are doomed to failure because the average person prefer Windows.
• PDAs are doomed to failure because the average person doesn't want to mess with it.

Etc. etc... Um, have you ever lived abroad and found out that you haven't seen your friends and families for months? You know how many lazy families there are who would rather video chat with the grandmother instead of seeing her in person for their "family-get-together"? Dating couples that are sick for each other? You can't think of any usages for yourself in a couple of seconds, so the product will surely be DOOMED TO FAILURE.

Re:I want to be heard, not seen.

[NanoGator]

"I do agree with this, but for the 3d design community [for movies and otherwise], this would be a great way to show models being worked on to an art director on the road without sending him/her a 3d model and requiring him/her to render, or sending a batch of renders."

Heck, it'd be great for those of us who make 3D models for a living! As it is, I rotate my models a LOT in order to work out that things are correct proportionally. The more detail, the slower this goes. If there was some way to 'bake' it into a 3D image, I'd be one happy dude.

Err sorry to leech off your post, but man I do agree with you. I'm aching for a 3D printer. Not quite as cool as a hologram, but I love the idea of studying prototype models that I'm holding in my hand.