Beam Me Up Charlie: Prince Charles Makes Holographic Appearance at Energy Summit
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 01.22.08
Sometimes, in our search for cool new green tech, the world starts to feel decidedly Sci-Fi. Prince Charles has previously graced our pages for both his attempts to cut his carbon footprint AND his exceptionally good sandwhich making abilities, but his latest headline-hitting green antics are probably the coolest yet. The heir to the British throne made an appearance last week at the Abu Dhabi World Future energy summit, but not in person or even through a video link up. His Royal Highness gave a speech as a hologram:
…delegates were treated to a full-size, walking, talking, fiddling hologram of his royal highness, who made a brief speech then vanished back into thin air.His appearance was the talk of the 2,500 delegates at the World Future energy summit, most of whom had flown thousands of miles to discuss renewable energy and climate change and how to save emissions.
The very sight of Prince Charles caused many to gasp, and they were also surprised by his reference to a common "creator" figure. "Scientists are now saying that the problem of climate change is now so grave and so urgent that we have less than 10 years to slow, stop and reverse greenhouse gas emissions. Common actions are needed in every country to protect the common inheritance that has been given to us by our creator..." said the prince.
::The Guardian::via site visit::
Probably the first holo-speach of political interest and it had to be Prince Charles. Something for the history books. Seriously?
Well, not actually a hologram (which is a 3D image suspended in space). It was nothing more than a century-old magic trick called Pepper's ghost, basically a 2D image projected on a half-silvered mirror. From a distance its pretty convincing. But there are only a few examples of true 3D holograms demonstarted in labs, and certainly not of this size or resolution.
You can see the future, but not yet touch it.
Wrong. True-3D holograms (and no, I'm not talking about lenticular) have existed for over a half-century now. We produce large scale holograms (life-size) with total depths and projections of up to 18-20 feet. Now, if you're looking for the a hologram "projector" (like the mythic "Princess L" hologrsm in SW), keep on looking. It would take a change in the laws of physics to ever become a reality.
Sorry, I should have been more specific. There are no lifesize holographic movies- either projected or direct viewed. There are smaller movies and even some lab demos of holograms made in real time on specialized displays (though pretty poor resolution). As TK correctly points out, modern holographic "portraits" are quite advanced- with clear images and vibrant colors. But its insulting to TK's company and other pioneers to portray a simple magic trick as the arrival of the holodeck...
It's going to be chilly tonight. I'm going to stoke up the fireplace with real wood.
It's going to be chilly tonight. I'm going to stoke up the fireplace with real wood.