Holograms became an inherent part of sci-fi a long time ago. Star Wars heroes use the technology as some sort of “intergalactic post”, secret services of the future visualize their plans via holographic screens, and futuristic hotels and restaurants often use holographic images as greeters or other personnel.
However, the holographic method went much further than just being a fad in science fiction, along with other sci-fi hoaxes like space stations, lab-grown meat, portable audio, and even neural networks we use today in machine learning. Dennis Garbor was the one who received a Nobel Prize in physics for holography invention in 1971 — and since then, it was applied for various purposes in real life as well.
A Little Bit of Science: How Do Holograms Work?
Visually, real-life holograms are very similar to those depicted in sci-fi movies. They are 3D images that reflect physical objects and are created via the interference of laser beams. Realistic holograms, the ones that are generated via the holographic method, are visible to the viewer without any equipment applied.
However, there are also so-called stereotypical holograms that are based on AR technology and require a special device to be seen. A distinctive example of such is Microsoft Hololens. Here, holograms are created not via the laser beam application, but via software as a mixed reality offering.
Here are 5 brilliant and practical examples of how to use hologram technology in the real world.
Military Mapping
Not only do sci-fi officers use holographic images to draw up plans, but so does the US Army. According to Wired, the American military received 13,000 holographic maps of battlefields designed by the Zebra Imaging company. These are referred to as early versions of holograms in the article, but we bet they definitely have improved since it was written.
Innovative Education
Most of us encountered physical models of molecules, the human body, or the dear old globe in the classrooms of chemistry, biology, or geography. However, these models have some drawbacks: they take up a lot of space and cannot be adjusted over the years free of charge.
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However, holographic versions of everything that’s being used in school to illustrate things and concepts would be flawless. These versions can be more detailed, visualize the object from different angles, and take none of the classroom space! Super convenient, isn’t it? Good examples of such technology usage are the four-meter-long holograms of the human body demonstrated by St George’s University of London in 2013.
Fun fact: in our times of remote learning, teachers also can become a hologram. The Nobel laureate Karl Wieman has once been speaking to students in Singapore via the holographic projection, all without leaving his university in the US.
Holographic Casino Halls
Caesars casino on the Las Vegas Strip has been planning to introduce a new hall with gesture-controlled holographic games and life-sized holographic dancers. This innovation was initiated by the Linq Hotel, which has already opened a technology-rich bar for sports betting.
While holographic halls are planned to be created as an experiment in Las Vegas, there are more possible applications of holographic technology in gambling to be added in the future. We are already witnessing the online gambling gradually adopting augmented reality. In the future, if this trend unfolds further, we might be able to experience “holographic” slots and roulette tables provided by the most popular casinos as well.
Direct Sales & Marketing
When you try to sell a physical product to the customer, it’s best to show it. That’s why we have car dealership stores, hardware stores, and place building layouts at the property sale spots. However, all of this requires a rather large investment into the square meters. Moreover, it requires customers to come to the store, which can be cumbersome or just simply not desirable in the era of remote shopping.
Holograms have been already used in advertising before. For example, Puma launched their digital-out-of-home campaign where they created a 360-degree model of their new sneaker on the parking lots near Chicago landmarks. World Wildlife Fund launched an animal trafficking awareness campaign by “placing” a holographic elephant walking on the streets of London. These examples show the potential of hologram advertising and are a promise for a more digital future.
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Music Live Shows
Frank Zappa died in 1993. Yet in 2019, he was magically resurrected by fans and toured with his band across America. You got it right: Frank was merely a hologram that was a part of a tribute a tour so special that every fan of Zappa came to witness it. What’s more, at 2012’s Coachella you could have met Tupac, while Roy Orbison toured with holographic versions of Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse.
Apart from tours with holographic artists, we also can’t ignore the rising popularity of the holographic method to generate spectacular visuals at popular music festivals and electronic music events. The future never looked more promising for holographic visualizations.
What’s Next?
Generating holograms with the physical method invented by Mr. Garbor might be complicated for an average gadget user. However, with the wide spread of devices that can generate simple holograms, we might expect a mass adoption soon. With the growth of AR-related apps, we might see not only Microsoft Hololens, but a number of alternative devices available on the market. The simplification of the hologram creation process, making it available to almost everyone, is only a matter of time.
