Do you remember when, in the movieStar Wars (1977),was the R2D2 robot projecting an image of Princess Leia asking Luke Skywalker and his allies for help? This science fiction image could become a reality thanks to the work of researchers at the University of Arizona (USA) who have developed theholographic device primerwhich can record a scene in one location and display it in another, updating it almost in real time, which is known asthree-dimensional telepresence. Scientific breakthrough, released today in the magazineNature, could lead to new applications of three-dimensional holographic technology in the entertainment and telemedicine industries, as well as being used to recreate 3D maps.
For decades, three-dimensional telepresence has been a source of interest to scientists, but large upgradeable holographic recording media was lacking.
Now, the team of scientists led by Nasser Peyghambarian has developed aholographic multicolor device that refreshes every secondand provides the effect of an almost real-time update thanks to the use of aphotorefractory polymer as recording material. Images are captured from multiple angles at one location, sent to another location using communication via Ethernet, and then printed using the hologram system. The more cameras used in the capture, the higher the definition of the three-dimensional hologram. “By moving your head to the right or to the left, up or down, you see various perspectives; it is the closest thing to real life images. Humans are used to seeing in three dimensions,” says Peyghambarian.
The new work builds on a previous study by the same group, and published in ‘Nature’ in 2008, which reported on an upgradeable three-dimensional holographic device. However, the hologram was then monochrome and could be updated only every four minutes.
