If you want to promote the heck out of Star Wars Lego, you honestly cannot go wrong with holograms. This delicious visual spectacular, complete with explosions, shield flares, laser bolts and animated characters, would compel any kid — and many sane adults — to pick up a few boxes of the science fiction-themed plastic blocks from their local toy retailer.
A group of developers from the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University, in Canada, has developed a cylindrical display system — called the “TeleHuman” — that is capable of projecting within itself a person’s full 3-dimensional figure. Circle the TeleHuman, and you will see your long-distance lover (or perhaps just your best friend) from all 360 degrees.
Unlike Tupac, BBC host James May doesn’t have to be dead before we get an augmented reality version of him. Granted, this is not quite as thrilling as having a Hologram Tupac Shakur perform as if still living, but as far as museum guides go, an augmented reality miniature man is a pretty sweet deal.
We already knew that the Tupac Hologram wasn’t really a hologram but rather a modern regurgitation of the old mid-19th century trick known as “Pepper’s Ghost”. If you were confused on how that illusion worked, be confused no more! Here it is.
It was only a matter of time, I suppose. But here it is, the two most revered moments in hologram history, combined to form one glorious internet video. Luke and Obi-Wan seem awfully confused by Tupac’s message. I guess rap doesn’t translate intergalactically?
The video of a dead Tupac Shakur rapping on stage at Coachella is really quite amazing. Now, the creator of the hologram has explained to MTV how he brought the rapper back to life.
If you were curious as to how a dead Tupac and Nate Dogg were going to “perform” at Coachella, well, here it is. Not looking a day over 25, the digitally created Tupac Shakur hologram acknowledged the Coachella crowd and rapped two of his songs.
That might be where we’re headed, but TCL’s prototype at CES was too much like that 90s arcade game, Hologram Time Traveller – more smoke and mirrors than Princess Leia freespace projection. The more immediate future of TV is all about OLED, 4K, Crystal Display, 8K glasses free 3D, and possibly, transparent screens. In fact, the Future Of TV Is Beautiful, Simple And Good [Gizmodo]
File this under cool shit we probably won’t see for a long time: Apple just recently filed an expanded patent application for a system that would detect hand/head motion around a computer and let you manipulate projected image controls.