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How to transmit real-time holograms

06 Aug 2013
Alexei Vella


Ever since the Star Trek holodeck, scientists have been trying to recreate the hologram telepresence system, with mixed success. "The joke is that it's always ten years away," says Oregon-based Brian David Johnson, resident futurist at Intel. Now, with motion sensors such as Microsoft's Kinect and California-based zSpace's 3D display software, you can beam 3D images in real time, or even have holographic Skype sessions. Johnson explains how.

Capture your image

The first step is to obtain a sharp 3D image. "Previously you needed multiple cameras, but along came PrimeSense's 3D cameras," says Johnson. These are either integrated into the Kinect or sold independently. To get a 360-degree view, either spin your subject around or walk around it while shooting.

Compress and send

You'll need a computer with the CPU and GPU fused to speed up the processing times. "You can capture the 3D image, compress it and send it to a laptop to process," says Johnson. The laptop needs to be running zSpace's software, which can convert the image into a 3D quasi-hologram in space.

Set up a 3D display

Not an easy task, but zSpace can meet you halfway: they sell a $3,900 (£2,500) display, with screen and 3D glasses, that projects a 3D image in the air, which you can then interact with. It's a hybrid of hologram and 3D TV, says zSpace CTO David Chavez, though the app to beam a Kinect-filmed image doesn't exist -- yet.

Skype a hologram

If you prefer to Skype holographic versions of your friends, you could pull up a Skype session in Windows and drop it into the zSpace software. "It pulls the picture off the screen and projects it in the air in 3D," explains Chavez. "And although it's not a real hologram, it does look and behave exactly like one."