APPLIANCE OF SCIENCE
ANOTHER DIMENSION
A research collaboration is set to lead to the launch of the next generation of holographic 3D displays
The University is working with a small local company on research into computer- generated holography to support the development of a pioneering holographic three-dimensional (3D) display system. Holoxica Ltd is an award-winning hi-tech company that specialises in supplying holograms, created from mathematical models or CAD drawings, for scientists, engineers and others who wish to visualise objects in real 3D. Its holographic products do not require special glasses or use optical tricks for viewing. Examples of hologram designs include protein structures, molecules, concept cars and medical imagery.
The company is also developing a patent-pending dynamic holographic 3D display system, which is at the advanced research stage. It has completed a proof of concept demo in 2010 and is now developing a prototype.
The technology is based on a screen that contains a number of spatially pre- encoded holographic images that can be selected individually, in combination or in sequence, using an optical switching matrix. Sequencing through the holographic images smoothly creates the perception of a moving holographic scene. Holoxica’s dynamic holographic display technology has undergone several years of research and development, resulting in a first-generation proof of concept demonstrator, which is the basis for the company’s second-generation prototype.
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These developments are not yet amenable to high-volume production, so the company is looking for ways of manufacturing the holographic screen, the key component, using semiconductor fabrication techniques that could then lead to mass production using embossing production processes. Embossing is used to make low-cost, high-volume holograms, such as those commonly found on credit cards. Now, with funding support from the Scottish Optoelectronics Association’s Technology Transfer Opportunity
Mechanism (TTOM) scheme, Holoxica has been able to call on the University’s expertise in this area, through Dr Will Hossack in the School of Physics and Professor Ian Underwood in the School of Engineering.
The University has given Holoxica access to its leading-edge spatial light modulator technology, advised on computer-generated holography and provided fast computer facilities for hologram generation and modelling work. This has enabled Holoxica to develop
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