With it's recent launch on kickstarter the Looking Glass stands to be one of the most advanced holographic displays on the market. This is pretty cool, especially since most people still aren't aware that holograms are even possible. However, if you're a holographic purist, you might argue they still aren't. And its true, this "hologram" remains confined to a box, for now at least. But even you have to admit that it looks pretty amazing... like something straight out of the future amazing. So, despite its technical limitations I think the Looking Glass gets a pass, just for looking awesome.
Now, this is a kickstarter, and I know a lot of you may be thinking that this thing is never actually going to ship. And I also know that its futuristic promises don't help either, but bear with me. The company actually has a long history of holographic work, including previous products. In addition to this, it's important to note that they aren't marketing it as some new paradigm of "computer interaction" or "gaming experience". So far, it has just been described as a tool, for anyone from 3d modelers, to game devs, or even architects at companies. It might seem like you wouldn't be able to raise sufficient funds with such a simple use case. Fear not, however, because at the time of this article, only a few days into their campaign, they have raised ten-times the amount they asked for. All from the simple promise of a useable holographic display (can't believe I just wrote those words).
Attempt #1: The Holo Player One
The holoplayer one was the Looking Glass inc's first foray into holographic displays (besides their volumetric display called, "volume" which they seem to have removed from their site). It had a very cool retro look to it and all in all was an extremely polished product. It was also, just like the Looking Glass, targeted at an audience of developers and designers. You can take a look at it over on Tested, which incidentally, has been covering them for a while and has videos on all of their designs, including the Looking Glass itself. Unfortunately, the Holo Player One never gained too much traction due to its low screen resolution.
The Future: The Looking Glass
The Looking Glass takes care the deficiencies of its predecessor, most notably with a much improved screen resolution. The Looking Glass also has compatibility with most controllers in the VR space, including the leap motion, again catering to the dev community. In addition to this, they provide tools and software for getting your display up and running and viewing your 3d models (or whaterver else you can think up!). The display renders 45 horizontal views at a time, for a wide viewing angle, and smooth display performance. Unfortunately, this means that vertical movement of your viewpoint has no impact on the hologram, but this doesn't seem to be too much of a drawback for something you put on your desk. Despite all these specs, and the cool idea behind them, you might be wondering what use a holographic display really is. And you'd have a point, especially with other paradigms of VR and AR improving every day, it's definitely not for anyone. However, if you're a designer, who spends a lot of time playing around in 3d, then the idea of seeing your creations come to life is truly amazing. But beyond this even, a physical display has some pretty major benefits over other forms of AR. For one thing, with the Looking Glass, you don't need any clunky headset, or unsightly and vaguely dangerous wires. Its completely headset-free, it just sits there and you can move around it as much as you please. For another thing, shifting your view causes no lag, and is incredibly stable, because there's absolutely no tracking involved. This means no sensors, and no setup. And then it also just looks cool, which is a definite benefit.
All in all, I wish this project success, because we could all use more holograms in our lives. And who knows... maybe if bitcoin skyrockets I might just buy one. For now I'm content to look from afar as the future takes shape before our very eyes!