Tabletop holographic display pulls media from your smartphone to make it 3D

Get ready for a taste of the future, because the digital world is about to collaborate with the physical. Canadian startup H+Technology wants to make holograms the futuristic technology that sci-fi movies have been promising us it would be for years.

Known as the Holus, the startup company’s tabletop holographic platform can take any digital content from a computer, tablet, or smartphone, and convert it into a three dimensional hologram. Whether it’s a DNA structure or the solar system, your content will come alive, and you can view and interact with it like never before. The idea behind the project is to make people aware of what consumer technology will be like in future years — to see the digital world as an intrinsic part of the immediate environment, utilized to interact with people near and far. 

Inside the microwave-sized device is a coated plexiglass prism. A projector beneath Holus’ lid beams four images of the same object onto the walls of the prism, and because of the magic that is holography, within the prism appears a single image to any user looking at it, no matter what side they’re viewing from. Users are able to control the images with any tablet, smartphone, or computer — as long as the device is equipped with Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

Currently Holus exists in prototype form, but when it hits the market, it’ll come in two different versions: Pro and Home. The Pro version will be a bit larger, but the main difference is that it’ll come with an SDK license to develop apps for the device. H+Technology developed an SDK that supports game engines, as well as partner plugins for various input devices.

See all that Holus is expected to be below!

To raise money for production, the company recently launched a Kickstarter campaign which surpassed its $40,000 funding goal in less than 18 hours. At the time this article was written, the project was up to $160,247 in pledges, and there’s still about a month left to go.

If you’re interested, pledging support during the early stages can get your hands on a Holus for about $850. H+Technology expects to begin shipping the device in July 2016. 

Source: phys.org