If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a hologram is worth a million. A Hologram “is a photographic technique that records the light scattered from an object, and then presents it in a way that is three dimensional” (Workman). Two dimensional displays are becoming boring in our world which consists of arguably, multiple dimensions. We love the way the images of a hologram dance freely in the space in front of us, while images displayed on a screen or monitor seem trapped. The hologram of Princess Leia in the movie Star Wars ignited our fascination with them. Holograms have been a long time coming, and that is why they are the future of digital media.
There are many advantages to using holograms. Holograms will make it seem like your content is alive. “Future holographic displays will also offer richer interactivity than traditional displays. Content will be more flexible and explorable, and instead of just passively watching shot after shot, a viewer might choose to zoom in and/or pause, to explore in detail, both spatially and temporally” (Tesla). This feature would be great for watching sporting events, where it seems like you are actually in the action. Also, this would make your feel like you are Tony Stark working on modifications for the next Ironman suit. Holograph displays “would mean you could carry a much smaller piece of hardware while having access to all the benefits of a computer” (Tesla). It is a rumor that the iPhone 7 will have a holographic keyboard, which will make typing a breeze while not actually having to carry around a bulky keyboard.
There are also some disadvantages to using holograms. We tend to fear the unknown because it is new and fills us with uncertainty. Some fear that:
If virtual reality becomes a part of people’s day-to-day lives, more and more people may prefer to spend a majority of their time in virtual spaces. As the futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted, somewhat hyperbolically, in 2013, “By the 2030s, virtual reality will be totally realistic and compelling and we will spend most of our time in virtual environments … We will all become virtual humans.” In theory, such escapism is nothing new—as critics of increased TV, Internet, and smartphone usage will tell you—but as VR technology continues to blossom, the worlds that they generate will become increasingly realistic, as Kurzweil explained, creating a greater potential for overuse. This technological paradigm shift brings a level of immersion unlike any that has come before it, and the handwringing has already begun. (Kim)
This is a valid point, but we have seen this before. The rise of television, the internet, and social media has created places for us to escape to, but we know that if we do not manage the amount of time we escape to these places, it can be detrimental. Holograms are no different. Hologram technology is very complexed and expensive. CNN created a hologram of news correspondent Jessica Yellin, and “Andrew Orloff, creative director of Zoic Studios, a Los Angeles firm that creates visual effects for TV, movies, commercials and video games, said such equipment does not come cheaply: Just one rendering engine, the kind of computer used to crunch multiple streams of visual information, can cost $70,000, he said” (Ryan). If we make the technology for holograms open source, we could have more minds working to make it cheaper and affordable to everyone. These are just small bumps in the road, and they can be overcome.
Holograms are going to change the shopping and entertainment industries as we know them. According to The Guardian, “holograms in changing rooms will enable shoppers to try on clothes without the need to get undressed. Smart glasses will also allow shoppers to use hologram technology to assess whether certain foods contain ingredients to which they might be allergic” (Nahon). Holograms will make shopping for clothes more efficient and can potentially save lives because we will be able to detect ingredients in foods we could be allergic to. An article by the Inquisitr said, “Pulse Evolution currently owns the rights to creating holograms of Presley, Marilyn Monroe, and Michael Jackson. The company was responsible for last year’s jaw-dropping Michael Jackson hologram performance at the Billboard Music Awards” (Droste). Holograms give us the ability to be immortalized. Death is a touchy subject, but it would be revolutionary if instead of a regular tombstone, there was a hologram of how the deceased wanted to be remembered. Also, a rapper named Chief Keef was not able to perform in his hometown of Chicago because of legal issues. He didn’t let this stop him. A hologram projection of him was set up in Chicago, while he was performing live at another location. Holograms are not limited to just changing the shopping and entertainment industries, but other aspects of our daily lives as well.
In today’s world, we want to be everywhere without actually having to be there and that is why apps like Facetime and Skype are so popular. Holograms are going to transform the way work environments are setup and the way we communicate. When it comes to creating virtual workspaces, “using technology like 3D spatial binaural audio, gesture interfaces, and super-high-resolution video, we will be able to build incredibly immersive (and relatively inexpensive) experiences for workers to connect more effectively” (Cavins). Virtual workspaces will allow for people to work from home, save travel time, without sacrificing the quality of their work. According to Tech Crunch, “studies have shown how audio and video cues are essential aspects of human-to-human interaction. The better and more lifelike we can make our remote meetings, the better we can work together” (Cavins). Virtual workspaces will make it so that it seems like you are right in front of your coworkers, so this eliminates misinterpretations and confusion. This idea can also be used to create virtual classrooms. We already have online classes, but they lack the one on one attention and personal feel a regular classroom provides. Virtual classrooms will make it so that it seems like your teacher in right in front of you. These ideas are game changers.
Surgeons will soon be adding holograms to their toolkit. According to Smithsonian Magazine, “‘a surgeon that’s going to plan to remove fragments and fix that kind of injury might benefit by viewing a true 3D representation of what they will actually see when they have the patient in the operating room,’ Napel says. ‘I think having, say, a 3D pelvis floating above a desktop, where you could see all the actual fractures and displacements, could have great potential for surgical planning’” (Handwerk). Many surgeons are very good at reading two dimensional x-rays, but we want a surgeon’s job to be as easy as possible. Holograms provide this ease. Also, this will be very useful for medical students to start their training using holograms.
We can expect to see holographic televisions, phones, and watches. The television has seen many transformations in its time and holographic televisions are next. “Researchers at MIT are anticipating holographic TV could enter our drawing room in just ten years down the line. If it turned into a valid anticipation, then today’s 2D TV sets would be obsolete from the market” (Smith). No one is going to want to watch television on a two dimensional display if they have the option to watch it holographically. The cellphone has gone through a similar metamorphosis as the television. “Sporting four front-facing cameras to track eye movement – similar to the quad-cam setup on the Amazon Fire phone – the Takee 1 is able to generate holographic images that float above the display” (McCann). Many people change phones every year or so, because they feel they need to keep up with the Joneses. If a phone that has a holographic display comes out, there is no doubt people will buy it. Putting technology into watches is relatively new and is only heard of in spy movies. One example is the Cricet Wristband, and “the bracelet comprises a pico projector and a row of eight proximity sensors that point towards the user’s forearm. It operates as a standalone device and, when activated with a twist of the wrist, projects an Android interface onto the users arm” (Robarts). With the interest that the iWatch and the Galaxy watch have gotten, a holographic watch will blow people away.
Works Cited
Cavins, Jeff. “Holograms, ‘Minority Report’ Gestures And Other Ways Your Meetings Will Change By 2018.” TechCrunch. AOL Inc., 02 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 May 2016.
Droste, Ryan. “An Elvis Presley Hologram Will Perform 15 Shows Next Year In Las Vegas.” The Inquisitr News. N.p., 12 July 2015. Web. 20 May 2016.
Handwerk, Brian. “Medical Holograms Are Now Part of the Surgeon’s Toolkit.” Smithsonian. N.p., 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 May 2016.
Kim, Onica. “The Good and the Bad of Escaping to Virtual Reality.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 20 May 2016.
McCann, John. “Insane Holographic Smartphone Just One-upped Amazon Fire Phone.” TechRadar. Future US Inc., 18 June 2014. Web. 20 May 2016.
Nahon, Claude. “Six Ways Technology Is Changing the Way We Shop.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 25 June 2014. Web. 20 May 2016.
Robarts, Stu. “Cicret Wristband Turns Your Arm into a Touch Screen.” Gizmag. Gizmag, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 May 2016.
Ryan, Maureen. “CNN ‘hologram’: How Much Did It Cost?” The Watcher. Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 May 2016.
Smith, John. “3D Hologram and the Future of Technology and Entertainment.” Business 2 Community. N.p., 29 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 May 2016.
Workman, Robert. “What Is a Hologram?” LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 23 May 2013. Web. 20 May 2016.
