For the first time, a team of engineers from the public university of Navarra (UPNA) has created a hologram with which you can interact using your hands. “What we see in movies and holograms generally call volumetric screens. These are the graphics that appear in the air and can be seen from different angles without the need to wear virtual reality glasses, ”explains Bouzbib, the first author of the newspaper.
How do these new holograms work?
The new prototype of interactable holograms technology comes from the Intevol project, led by UPNA and funded by the European Research Council (ERC).
Volumetric displays have existed as prototypes for some time now, the majority of them resembling closed 3D projectors. These devices work by displaying a bunch of images on a device called “diffusor”, which, in simple terms, is a projector screen that rises from top to bottom that the human eye can not understand it. In this case, the diffusor oscillates at a very high speed, displaying 2,880 images per second.
Two people observing a 3D skull. One of them touches the hole in the eyes. (Image Credit: Iñigo Ezcurdia 2025)
The new technology works using a similar concept, but the diffusor is made of a different material. For those who are not aware, the diffusers are mainly thin, rigid and brittle, so if you try to prick a 3D image generated by it, there is a good chance that it will break.
To overcome this, engineers who made the interactable hologram say they have used a series of elastic bands that users can touch without harming them. This allows users to interact directly with the hologram, with the main author of the study saying that you can insert the hands to grasp and enter virtual objects.
Researchers also say that new hologram technology allows multiple users to interact with it, eliminating the need to wear large virtual reality headsets. The practical applications of this technology are enormous. For example, people will be able to do things like visualizing and assembling the parts of an engine where it can also be used to offer an immersive experience in museums.
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