New Hologram Technology Means Clearer, Cheaper Displays

Coming to a TV screen near you... Maybe. Credit: D. Smalley Evil masterminds of the world: Don’t you just hate it when you’re trying to deliver your ultimatum via hologram and the display is all wobbly and blurry and not at all intimidating? Take heart. Science is coming to your rescue. A new method for creating holograms significantly improves image clarity and puts the technology in the price range of would-be megalomaniacs with even modest budgets. For the rest of us, the technology holds promise for glasses-free three-dimensional televisions that could actually be affordable. According to a study published today in Nature, the new holographic video monitors — with full-color, standard video resolution and displays wider than 19 inches — can be constructed for less than $500. According to its developers, the new guided-wave modulator is not only a cheap solution, but it solves many of the problems with systems ...