Holograms: Their place and future in our lives

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University of Warwick

ES182 Multimedia Technology

Holograms: their place and future in our lives

By Jiaxiao Yan

The University of Warwick

School of Engineering

Student ID: 1320840

Date: 11/03/2014

Affiliation: Year 1 Mechanical

Engineering

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Contents

Introduction to holograms . 3

History of holograms .. 3

How a hologram is made . 4

Current applications of holograms 5

Future Concepts . 6

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Introduction to holograms

A hologram, by definition, is a three-dimensional image formed by the interference of light beams

from a laser or other coherent light source [1]. The creation of a hologram requires a laser,

interference, diffraction, light intensity recording, and suitable illumination of the recording. What

makes a true hologram projection different from a 2-dimensional image or an image which

appears to be 3-dimensional (e.g. in 3D in film), is that it can be viewed from different angles, so that

the orientation of the viewing system changes, not just observing an image purely in the way that it

is shown (e.g. a 2D film). However, it is important to remember that the holographic recording is not

an image itself, but actually consists of varying intensity, density, or profile [2]. As the field of

technology advances, Holography (the technique which enables 3D images to be made) is becoming

more and more prominent in our lives. In this essay, I will be discussing the background of

holography and its process, and analysing the impact that it applications have had and will have in

our lives.

History of holograms

The concept of the hologram was first

introduced around the late 1940s by the

Hungarian-British scientist Dennis Gabor,

developed the theory of holography

through his work to improve the

resolution of an electron microscope.

Gabor came up with the word hologram

through an amalgamation of the Greek

words holos, which means whole, and

gramma, meaning message. The

development of this idea would be

thwarted however, due to the fact that

light sources available at the time were

not truly coherent. This issue was quickly overcome in the 1960s by Russian scientists Nikolay Basov

and Alexander Prokhorov, and American scientist Charles Hard Townes (all three would share the

1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for their development of the laser), with their invention of the laser. The

laser would provide a coherent light source which became ideal for making holograms. In the same

year, the pulsed-ruby laser was developed by Dr Theodore Maiman. Unlike the continuous wave

laser (a laser that produces a constant output beam) which is normally used in creating holograms,

the pulsed-ruby laser would emit a powerful burst of light, lasting a few nanoseconds, making it able

to produce images of high speed events.

Figure 1, cross sectional view of a pulse-ruby laser

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Another important year in holography history is 1962, when engineers Juris Upatnieks and Emmett

Leith in the University of Michigan realised that holography could be used as a 3D visual medium.

After reading Gabors paper they used Gabors technique and an off-axis technique with a laser

and resulted in the first laser transmission hologram of 3D objects. The holograms produced images

with clarity and realistic depth but required laser light to view. It should be noted that their

innovative work led to the standardisation of the equipment which we use today to make holograms.

Laboratories and studios all around the world have the

necessary equipment (continuous wave laser, lens, mirrors,

beam splitters, holographic film, etc.) to produce a standard

hologram, all done using the off-axis technique.

In the same year, Dr Yuri Denisyuk combined holography and

1908 Nobel award holder Gabriel Lippmanns work in natural

colour photography to make a white light reflection hologram,

which could be viewed under the light of an ordinary light

bulb, and is a huge breakthrough from what Upatnieks and

Leith had achieved. Dr Stephen Benton in 1968 invented white

light transmission holography, a type of hologram that can be

viewed under natural light, forming a rainbow image including

the seven colours which make up the rainbow. This led to the

possibility of mass producing holograms using an embossing

technique, whereby holograms are essentially printed by

stamping the interference pattern onto a sheet of material.

The resulting product can be duplicated in masses at a very cheap cost (a few pennies each). An

example where this is used is in credit or debit cards, or passports. This makes them harder to forge

[3].

How a hologram is made

In Figure 3, a diagram of how a standard hologram

is made. The equipment used in this demonstration

is a laser, a beam splitter, mirrors, (diverging) lenses,

holographic film, and an object.

1. A laser beam is shone through a beam

splitter, which divides the beam into two parts.

2. The beam that splits off to the right is called

the object beam. It is given this name because the

beam reflects off the object and onto the

photographic film. In Figure 3 it is shown that the

object beam travels through a diverging lens,

becoming a wide swath of light instead of the

former narrow beam, reflects off a mirror onto the

object, then finally onto the photographic film.

Figure 2, example of laser transmission

hologram

Figure 2, example of laser transmission

hologram

Figure 3, basic setup in making a hologram

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3. The other beam of light (the one which splits off to the left) is called the reference beam, and

does not physically interact with the object. The beam simply reflects off a mirror and through a

diverging lens, and onto the holographic film.

The lenses used must be diverging lenses, as it is the interference pattern which is imprinted onto

the holographic film, and is responsible for the image formed. Without the diffraction of the object

and reference beams, there would be no interference pattern and hence no final image [4].

There are a number of initial conditions which need to be set before a stable holographic image can

be produced. The light source from the laser needs to be as coherent as possible, or the image

produced will not be as clear. Similarly, the mirrors used would have to be entirely clean, or the final

image will be deteriorated. Background light is also important in producing a good image.

Sometimes holograms are shot in complete darkness, or a lower level of light which is a different

colour than the light used in making the hologram. Like a camera, a shutter may also be used to limit

the exposure of the film to the light source and object. Holography requires a steady working surface

which will keep the equipment used to record the image still. There are specially designed tables

which dampen vibrations, making them ideal for this. Even vibrations in the air (e.g. air conditioning,

breathing, etc.) can make the image unclear [2] [5].

Current applications of Holograms

At the moment, Holograms seem to largely be

used in entertainment, advertising, and security.

Big companies are always looking to take

advantage of newer and potentially more

successful ways of advertising, and holography

offers just that. In 2013, Nike used holography

in their advertising campaign for their new

super-flexible trainers, called the Nike Free

5.0, on the streets of Amsterdam. Nike used a

device called the Holocube, which looks like a

transparent box containing a hologram of the

shoe inside. The shoe hologram would then

rotate in a 3D plane so that people viewing it from different angles would see the shoe from

different perspectives. It would also show how flexible the shoe was, by twisting and turning

as shown in figure 4. The products vibrant colour would also stand out more at night time.

A report from The Future of Things (an online science and technology magazine) revealed that

the Holocube is capable of displaying a resolution of 1080i and can store up to 18 hours of

video at a bit rate of 4 megabytes per second. Even though the Holocube has been around

for 5 years, it is relatively expensive to use, with sources reporting around $10,000 for 10

inches of the Holocube [6].

Figure 4, holographic copy of the Nike Free 5.0

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Ford are also another company who are using holograms to promote their products, using

Zebra Imagings holographic prints to promote their car, the Ford B-Max, in 2012. This also

turned out to be the best selling small multi-activity vehicle in Europe for the first half of

2013. This could very well be due to utilising holography in their advertising [7] [8]. A paper

written by S. A. Shoydin from the Siberian State Geodesy Academy in Russia on the

applications of Denisyuks holograms in advertising discusses how beneficial holography is in

commercial use. The author states that when one of our senses is uncomfortable with an

object, then it is our instinct to not interact with that object, the author then uses the

analogy of how our instinct will tell us that a kerosene-smelling object is inedible no matter

how appealing it looks. A hologram bypasses this basic instinct by only stimulating one

sense, sight. This triggers a self-preservation based identification mechanism which makes it

difficult to forget, making holography a very engaging means of advertising [9].

In security, holograms can be used to prevent forgery in important items and documents

such as credit/debit cards and passports (mentioned in History of holograms). The

company Hologram Industries specialises in security for documents, vehicles, and even

money, using holograms. In 2010, two central banks (Brazil and the Philippines) switched to

hologram. This technology allows for high speed applications, without added thickness [10].

Engineering from Burton Inc. in Japan have created a true 3D display. Most current 3D

displays today involves some form of optical illusion and a screen, yet this system can

function in air or under water, without the aid of a screen. This works by focusing laser light

into certain points in the air to stimulate

oxygen and nitrogen molecules to a plasma

excitation level. This laser can then be

controlled to create recognisable patterns.

However, currently the frame rate is at

around 10 to 15 frames per second,

whereas a standard television will have a

frame rate of about 24 fps, so there is still a

long way to go in this respect [11].

Future concepts

In November 2010, Apple patented a 3D display system which would mimic a hologram,

without the requirement of 3D glasses. The patent specifically was for a device to project 3D

stereoscopic images to multiple viewers at the same time. Apples solution is to use a

forward facing camera or sensor, tracking the location of different viewers eyes, with a

screen that can send out beams of light from different angles [12]. I personally feel that this

is a good idea by apple, as the technology has not been applied to any other smart phone or

Figure 5, true 3D display by Burton Inc.

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tablet on the market right now, and with the patent, they will be the first company to

release a device with this capability, and therefore dominating the marketplace for that

product.

In 2013, Rollo Carpenter, engineer and creator of cleverbot.com, the online chatting

program, discussed in an interview how it would be technologically possible to create a

virtual version of a person, provided that there was enough data on said person. You would

be able to recreate a holographic image of the subject and intertwine it with audio from

them. Currently there are constraints to this idea as it would require enormous amounts of

data, and it would be very difficult to program a unique response for so many different

questions, as Carpenter pointed out [13]. The technology is there, but the data is lacking.

A holographic versatile disc (HVD) is a highly dense optical disc with a diameter of about 10-

12cm which can store several terabytes of data on it. The technology for this was developed

between 2004 and 2008. However it was not pursued, due to the high manufacturing costs,

and the emergence of Blu-Ray discs, which can store about 30 to 50 gigabytes of data, but

cost only around $2-3 to produce each, whereas a single HVD can cost between $120 and

$180. I think that as technology advances, the HVD production costs will gradually decrease,

and eventually become profitable to produce and sell, as the need for last storage units is

constantly increasing [14].

Lastly, the advancements in holography could revolutionise the way we communicate. For

instance, through a holographic projection, a university student could attend his or her

lectures without leaving his room, and in turn, a university lecturer may not have to leave

his or her house to teach the lecture. Another potential concept is that of a holographic

version of the video calling software Skype. This could enhance the way we interact, as

seeing a 3 dimensional image of a person would be more engaging than the current 2

dimensional video calls we have. A disadvantage of this is that society could become too

dependent on this technology, and if it is often unreliable, could cause us great

inconvenience.

To conclude, I would say that holography has huge potential in many different areas, and if

utilised well, whether in security, or advertising, will yield a lot results for the user. However,

it can prove to be difficult to work with, hindered by the lack of todays technology and data.

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References

1. https://www.google.co.uk/ Google search Hologram

Retrieved 08/03/2014

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography


3. http://www.holography.ru/histeng.htm


4. http://science.howstuffworks.com/hologram1.htm


5. http://science.howstuffworks.com/hologram2.htm


6. http://www.zebraimaging.com/news-and-events/news/bid/284919/Nike-uses-3D-

holographic-advertising-on-street-signs


7. http://www.zebraimaging.com/blog/bid/158126/Ford-B-Max-Hologram-Great-Use-of-

Technology-in-Advertising


8. http://www.johngrose.co.uk/ford/news/b-max_europeanbestseller


9. http://link.springer.com/article/10.3103/S1060992X13040127#page-1


10. http://www.hologram-industries.com/optofoil


11. http://www.gizmag.com/burton-true-3d-laser-plasma-display/20499/


12. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-07/why-apple-will-turn-to-holograms


13. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/digital/fact-vs-fiction/esquire-fact-or-

fiction-cleverbot-and-the-talking-holograms-of-the-future-15712142


14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holographic_Versatile_Disc


Figure 1 - http://www.hairremoval4guys.com/images/History_Of_Lasers_01.png

Figure 2 - http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/optmod/imgopm/chesr21.jpg

Figure 3 - http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/hologram-7.gif

Figure 4 - http://retail-innovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/holocube-nike.jpg

Figure 5 - http://tokyotek.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Burton-Hologram-590x347.jpg

Holograms: Their place and future in our lives

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