Every now and then I find one of these very cool articles that details a breakthrough in technology that really impresses me. Imagine if you had a way to project 3D models or images out in space that appeared to just hang there? They might rotate, or people could walk around them to examine them from all directions?

If you think about the images of Star Wars, R2D2 is projecting the 3D image of Princess Leia into space for the rest of the characters to look and listen. But how do you get the image to “hang in space”?

Well, a group of researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have developed a projector that is showing signs of being capable of all of this … and maybe more!
Check out this post titled AIST develops 3D image projector … it shows some of the early images, and talks about how the device works.

The newly developed device, however, creates “real” 3D images by using laser light, which is focused through a lens at points in space above the device, to create plasma emissions from the nitrogen and oxygen in the air at the point of focus. Because plasma emission continues for a short period of time, the device is able to create 3D images by moving the point of focus.

At the demonstration, bursts of laser light were emitted 100 times per second to form shapes in the air up to 50 cm above the device. Heat from the laser caused the air to expand, producing a crackling sound that resembled a series of tiny explosions.

Now this is just amazing to me. They are able to focus a laser at some point in space, and excite the molecules enough to create plasma emissions. Imagine when they are able to improve upon this technology, and create nice compact projectors. The issues that I can see right now are colors, and the sound. Will they be able to create different color of the dots? And what can they do about the sounds? Maybe timing the lasers in a way that causes the sounds to cancel each other out? As for colors … who knows.

With something like this, the Star Wars chess game becomes possible … I’m curious how many years until we see something like this hit the market for the average consumer? I have to admit that I wouldn’t have even thought about something like this being created. It makes sense how it works … but some amazing minds are at work. We are living in interesting times … and the Singularity is coming.