Science fiction has promised us interactive, holographic screens for decades, pervading popular culture from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy to the Star Wars film franchise. VividQ has now made this a possibility, developing products that allow ‘true holographic display’ to be integrated into Augmented Reality wearables, Automotive Head-Up Displays, and Consumer Electronics. This means that for the first time ever, this computer-generated holography will be widely available.

VividQ closes funding round with £11million

It is undeniable that many are interested in the futuristic technology VividQ has to offer. In a July funding round led by Innovation Platform (IPC) at the University of Tokyo, with Foresight Williams Technology (a collaboration between Japanese Miyako Capital, Austrian APEX Ventures and Silicon Valley’s R42 Group) received £11m of seed funding.

In addition to this, Sure Valley Ventures, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, as well as various angel investors have supported the company, leading to a total of £17m in equity funding.

On this, CEO and Co-founder of VividQ Darren Milnew said:

‘Scenes we know from films, from Iron Man to Star Trek, are becoming closer to reality than ever. Our team has taken the technology that used to require immense amounts of computing power and found solutions to implement Computer-Generated Holography across consumer electronics. This new investment allows us to complete the next, critical phase of implementation projects and supports further innovation efforts to bring holography to new display applications. We’re incredibly excited to see what’s next with our customers.’

Computer generated holography

The technology being developed by VividQ allows for Computer-Generated Holography (CGH), which involves engineering light in order to create three-dimensional projection from 3D data sources such as depth-sensing cameras and game engines.

Specifically, VividQ offers the software and IP that make CGH displays possible. The interesting part of VividQ’s mission is that it claims to be able to make holograms accessible through consumer-grade LCD screens. As mentioned earlier, preexisting commercial technologies such as augmented reality wearables are able to be integrated with VividQ’s software. Their technology is able to ‘compute holograms in real-time on low power devices and integrate them with off-the-shelf display hardware’.

VividQ’s SDK software encompasses complex algorithms, which allow holograms to be calculated from 3D data sources. Interference pattern – also known as hologram – is a set of complex instructions telling light how to behave, and when this is displayed on a ‘suitable hardware element such as LCos LCD or DMD panel’, it instructs the light into a holographic projection. The holographic projection is created when an RGB light source is directed at the hologram, which ‘modulates the wavefront of light’. These processes combine to create the 3D projections we have come to know and love from popular culture. Additionally, no special viewing devices or glasses are needed, unlike earlier manifestations of hologram technology.

Why holograms?

The three-dimensional nature of holograms means that projections ‘possess the same visual depth cues as a real object and can integrate seamlessly into the real world’. The resulting viewing experiences are ultra-immersive and true to life, mimicking how objects are observed in the real world.

This undoubtedly has usability in home entertainment, such as that shown in Fahrenheit 451’s holographic parlor screens, or Blade Runner’s digitally projected assistant. The growing interest ‘holography’ has also made its rounds in popular culture and arts, with Tupac’s digital resurrection ‘performing’ at Coachella, or more recently the Kanye West-commissioned figure of Robert Kardashian (which are both not, in fact, holograms, but an illusion called ‘Pepper’s Ghost’). These projects have reportedly cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, even though they are not technically real holograms. This is why the development of VividQ’s authentic and accessible holograms is all the more impressive.

Beyond the arts, there are several other potential applications of holography.

Medical students and surgeons will be able to use holograms to view 3D representations of human organs, down to the minute details for training and surgical purposes. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is currently being used by doctors to gather large amounts of complex data to map out patient anatomy. Currently viewed on a flat screen, holograms will allow practitioners to access a more realistic depiction.

Holography also has the potential to be widely used in military mapping, similar to that seen in spy films. The topographic detail, realism, interactivity, and true-to-scale nature of these maps may make it easier for soldiers to train.

With further development and proliferation, we will undoubtedly find holograms integrating into other sectors.

Conclusion

As VividQ has demonstrated, the promise of holography is closer and more attainable than ever before; we may be on the horizon of a new era of complete technological immersion.

Publicly endorsing VividQ, Dr Hermann Hauser, successful tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist expressed:

‘Computer-Generated Holography recreates immersive projections that possess the same 3D information as the world around us. VividQ has the potential to change how humans interact with digital information.’

About the Author: Shadine Taufik

Shadine Taufik is a contributing Features writer with expertise in digital sociology and culture, philosophy of technology, and computational creativity.