Holotop

The tangle

A Japanese tech company wanted a kind of screen with which you could see 3D holograms. They just didn’t get very far.

The disentangler

Since I already had some experience with holograms for attractions, I was asked why they couldn’t find the right techniques. My answer was simple: technically it’s just not possible at the moment to make a real hologram like you see in movies. We use available techniques and combine them with illusion effects. It’s about your brain thinking it’s seeing a hologram.

The disentangling

I first helped the experts at this tech company in their technology lab in Manila to create a simple screen that allows you to view 3D holographic images using a combination of techniques. This allowed them to see what is possible and what it looks like.

I then brought in the world’s best hologram expert and designed a screen in 3D that is also collapsible. This also allowed us to add a keyboard, and it became the Holotop.

We made a number of prototypes of this holotop with a 3D printer. And they also made a test sample in their own lab.

The disentangled result

The holotop works perfectly. We have been able to make holographic projections with it.

The software is currently being developed for it. That is a bit more complicated because the screen is no longer flat but can consist of several layers of folders etc.