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HP Labs has been developing a new kind of 3D display that plays hologram-like videos and images without the need for moving parts or glasses.
Viewers can walk around the videos and images, which hover just above the screen, and experience them from as many as 200 different viewpoints.
This new screen is made by modifying a conventional LCD, the same kind of display found in most smartphones, tablets, laptops and televisions. Researchers at HP Labs believe these 3D systems could enable new kinds of user interfaces for portable electronic devices.
The display uses nanopatterned grooves, which HP researcher David Fattal, who led the work, calls ‘directional pixels’. Theses pixels send light off in different directions meaning no new moving parts are required. This also means the patterns are built into the backlight of an existing display component.
Leading up to the announcement of the iPhone 5 last year, there was a host of rumours revolving around holograms and laser keyboards, in fact someone even made a mock iPhone 5 advert showing the made up tech. It was so well done that Fox 5 News reported it as fact. D’oh.
While that turned out to be fake, with HP’s new technology it may not be too long until we see something along those lines in the not too distant future.
