In April 2021, Scientific Reports and the January 2021 Nature new technology is touted. The so-called optical trap display makes 3D holograms possible. The visuals develop when a particle is trapped in the air and moves into contour a shape. All calculations consider the flicker rate of an eye. This means the image has to be virtually redrawn about 10 times a second to maintain consistency.

Mastering light is what 3D technology is all about. And the Brigham Young University (BYU) holography research group is making photon-colored lightsabers of the Star Wars variety. They can also make holograms appear out of thin air.

Optical trap display makes holograms

Inspired by the images of science fiction, BYU professor of electrical engineering Dan Smalley describes how his team can engineer battles between the Starship Enterprise and a Klingon Bird-of-Prey Battle Cruiser.

“What you’re seeing in the scenes we create is real; there is nothing computer-generated about them,” said Smalley. “This is not like the movies, where the lightsabers or the photon torpedoes never really existed in physical space. These are real, and if you look at them from any angle, you will see them existing in that space.”

It’s innovative work from the same group that received recognition in 2018. They develop screenless free-floating art that appears like objects in space. The latest developments are optical trap displays.

It works like “a 3D printer for light” says Smalley.

No screens required

The research group’s optical trap project funds through a National Science Foundation CAREER grant. And the next-level work creates an immersive experience where people interact with holographic objects that co-exist in their space.

“Most 3D displays require you to look at a screen, but our technology allows us to create images floating in space — and they’re physical; not some mirage,” Smalley reports. “This technology can make it possible to create vibrant animated content that orbits around or crawls on or explodes out of everyday physical objects.”

"What you're seeing in the scenes we create is real; there is nothing computer-generated about them," Smalley explains. "This is not like the movies, where the lightsabers or the photon torpedoes never really existed in physical space. These are real, and if you look at them from any angle, you will see them existing in that space."

The team uses interesting optical tricks which extend past any physical limitations of the display. For example, they use perspective to make objects appear l much further away than they are.

It’s not just movie special effects anymore. Because the age of holograms is truly here.