A team of researchers from the Public University of Navarra (UPNA) has made a breakthrough in holographic technology.
Led by Doctor Elodie Bouzbib and including Iosune Sarasate, Unai Fernández, Manuel López-Amo, Iván Fernández, Iñigo Ezcurdia, and Asier Marzo, the group has successfully created three-dimensional graphics that float in mid-air—and can be touched and moved by hand.
“What we see in films and call holograms are typically volumetric displays,” said Bouzbib, the lead author of the work. “These are graphics that appear in mid-air and can be viewed from various angles without the need for wearing virtual reality glasses. They are called true-3D graphics.”
She explained that this kind of display supports the “come-and-interact” approach. “They are particularly interesting as they allow for the ‘come-and-interact’ paradigm, meaning that the users simply approach a device and start using it.”
This achievement takes things far beyond existing commercial prototypes. Companies like Voxon Photonics and Brightvox Inc. already offer volumetric displays, but those don’t let users interact directly with the floating images. This new project changes that.
Asier Marzo, the lead researcher, stated, “Direct interaction means being able to insert our hands to grab and drag virtual objects.”
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