What Is Hologram Technology and How Is It Being Used?

Hologram technology: ever the subject of science fiction films and TV, but always tantalisingly out of reach for the everyday individual. In recent years we’ve been treated to 3D entertainment and projections of bygone stars like Tupac Shakur, but real holograms have failed to materialise, Leia-R2D2-style.

Thankfully, for lovers of futuristic tech, holograms are making headway – in some truly exciting and mind-bending ways! What are they, how do they work, and what are some of their uses?

What is hologram technology?

Hologram technology is used to describe two-dimensional displays which display motion parallax. This means when you move, you see a different image depending on your position, and each eye sees a different image, providing a sense of depth – like a three-dimensional object is sitting within the display.

How does it work?

So, how does this work? Well, in typical images (photographs or videos made from thousands of static images), the image you see in the moment is fixed. It doesn’t change depending on your position.

To make a hologram, the image uses a few tricks involving that other sci-fi mainstay: lasers! In simple, stripped back terms, to create one:

A laser is fired through a beam splitter, splitting it in two directions.

The first beam (the object beam) goes through a lens and is bounced off a mirror towards the object that’s being captured in the hologram. It bounces off the object and hits a holographic plate.

At the exact same time, beam two (known as the reference beam) is bounced off a mirror, through a lens, then onto the plate.

Due to the properties of laser light, the two beams are in phase with one another, meaning the light waves that form them move in unison. When they meet back on the plate, they produce something called an interference pattern. This is a stripy image on the plate that is formed by electromagnetic interference.

However, in the process of being split and bounced off an object, the object beam’s phase changes. As it hits the holographic plate, it essentially maps out the 3D image of the object it’s been reflected off. This information is stored in the plate.

When a reference laser beam with a similar light wave pattern to the original reference beam is projected into the back of the plate, it recreates the image recorded by the original object beam, and the hologram comes to life!

It’s a confusing concept – partly because it requires some rather in-depth

knowledge of light properties and physics to understand. More importantly, how is it being used?

How is hologram tech being used?

According to Allied Market Research, the holographic display market is set to increase from $1.13 billion in 2020 to $11.65 billion in 2030.

This is the product of all sorts of drivers. First, the tech for holograms isn’t even particularly complicated, which means that even hobbyists can get hold of the electronics components needed to create their very own holographic projects. If you love making circuits and inventing new applications for tech, why not go full sci fi and explore the world of holograms!

In business, holograms are being used in company calls – famously by Verizon and Korea Telecom in 2017. The music industry is also using them, such as Eric Prydz, and scientists in 2017 were able to turn a regular Wi-Fi box into a holographic imaging system too.

What do you think holograms might be useful for? Let us know in the comments section!