Personal home hologram machine could make sci-fi a reality
By: R. Dallon Adams (TechRepublic)
3D TV is only the beginning. Coupling holography with virtual reality would make the experience more immersive.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
In recent years, a number of organizations have used hologram technology to bridge the gap between generations; artificially meshing the present with bygone figures of the past. In October of 2018, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute launched a new $1.5 million exhibit to welcome museum visitors—a hologram of the 40th US president. Earlier this month, holographic technology company, PORTL, in partnership with the SAAS storytelling platform, StoryFile, launched the Epic PORTL, an AI-powered hologram projection system.
"For the first time in history you can converse with an artificially intelligent hologram beamed into a human sized hologram projection machine and ask them anything, anywhere, at anytime" said David Nussbaum, CEO of PORTL, in a press release. "The possibilities are wide open, given the power of StoryFile's A.I. and the life-like quality of these holograms. I'm looking forward to seeing what the world does with this."
Prior to PORTL's founding in 2019, Nussbaum worked extensively with holography throughout the film, television, and music industries. Overall, the Epic PORTL is roughly the size of a slightly bulkier vending machine or a typical stand-up freezer, measuring seven feet high, five feet wide, and two feet deep.
The unit, reportedly priced at $60,000, features a wide bezel along the frame and the central portion of the device is where the hologram is "beamed" in. The machine delivers the 4K resolution hologram image in real time, according to a recent demonstration video. A pair of speakers on both sides of the device add audio to the visual holographic component.
The potential applications for such a device are wide-ranging across industries; especially during the coronavirus pandemic as organizations, schools, and universities have shifted online to enhance public safety. Interestingly enough, the first model was sold to Medtronic and the organization plans to use the device to educate students on its campus in the US, per ZDNet.
"Being able to combine our storytelling proprietary technology with PORTL's compact technology creates an exciting new experience for organizations and institutions to showcase their stories. We are looking forward to bringing this unique experience to the world," said Heather Smith, StoryFile CEO, in a press release.
The current somewhat hefty build may still be a bit cumbersome for many households. However, the company did present a much more company miniature version of the device in a video earlier this summer.
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Why build a physical robot to allow interfacing with an artificial intelligence? Holography provides a more realistic way to interact with intelligent machines that would be far easier to create than a robotic interface.
Talking to Alexa would be like talking to a person rather than a black box.
60 minutes had a piece on a similar project last night.
Project lets people interview Holocaust survivors even after their deaths
It was fascinating.
"Alexa" could be anyone you want - Walter Cronkite, Marylin Monroe , your ex spouse ...
You could also have holographic Zoom sessions with living people - just like being in the same room.
Ahhhh - Asimov's The Naked Sun .
Imagine being able to spend a day with a dead friend or relative.
It reminds me of the videos of people singing with past stars.
Kinda creepy to me.
The Holos Gallery I mentioned in #3 had this one of a woman's head in a glass case. The damned thing would turn and follow your movements and blinked it eyes. That creeped me out.
There's a good SF movie somewhere in that idea.
I used to date the guy that pioneered holograms with a friend of his back in the late 70's. He had a gallery called Holos in SF.
Many years ago when I visited NYC I went to a "Holograph Museum" somewhere in south Manhattan and it was impressive. There was a holograph of either the galaxy or solar system and I walked right though it. BACK AT THAT TIME I conjectured that down the road ordinary home TV could be upgraded to provide holographic images in one side of a room instead of using a screen. Soon after that, I believe it was on an annual Oscar (Academy Awards) program that a holograph scene was shown. I believe it's coming. After all, remember how impossible Dick Tracy's watch phone was back then, well a 7 year old student I was helping with her English here wore one - it was a watch and a phone that enabled her to speak to either her parents or to the police.
I don't know if you ever visited Knot's Berry Farm or not, but they had a doll house collection with a working 2-3 inch TV. This was decades before I phones, Sony Watchmans, and everything we have now.
My parents visited Knotts Berry Farm when they took a trip to California, and I still recall the photo they had sticking their heads through a sort of barn-wall. Although I've been to California a few times, I never did visit Knott's Berry Farm.