We may be closer than ever to recreating some of the most iconic tech in sci fi history.
Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope.
We've seen hologram technology move leaps and bounds over the last few years.
Maybe you caught Jesse's look at 3D volumetric displays a few weeks ago now researchers from the interact Lab at the University of Sussex have created three-dimensional Holograms.
You can hear and even feel they call their device the acoustic tracks display.
Essentially.
It's using sound to manipulate a tiny particle that traces out these images.
Here's how it works.
The display is made up of an array of small ultrasound speakers that produce sound waves, LED lighting and a two millimeter bead.
The sound waves keep the beat suspended in midair and they can manipulate the beats position.
The bead moves around the display too fast for our eyes to see.
So what we see is a 3D image.
And remember this is genuinely a three-dimensional image.
It doesn't just appear to have depth that means it can be viewed from any Angle now believe it or not.
This Tech is actually inspired by old school TV.
You may not be old enough to remember CRT televisions, but they created images with a single color beam that scanned across the screen so quickly.
Our brains registered them as a single image.
Another point worth noting, nature reporter Lizzie Gidney saw this acoustic display up close She said the images don't flicker in real life like they do on video.
But here's where it gets really cool.
The speakers can also make the beat vibrates to produce different sound waves, which means these images can freaking talk.
3, 2, 1, 0.
I can't be the only one who immediately started thinking about Princess Leia sending a distress called the Obi Wan.
When I saw that, that doesn't blow your mind.
We're not done yet.
The ultrasound waves can also generate tactile feedback, meaning you could essentially feel the flutter of the butterfly's wings.
And it's true, we're still a long way off from the holodecks we all know and love in the Star Trek universe.
But there's no other volumetric display that can produce touch the way this one can.
And the researchers behind it say, the ability to manipulate matter without actually touching it opens up a ton of other opportunities.
For example, you could mix chemicals without the risk of human contamination, or even manipulate human tissue to better deliver life saving drugs.
Scientists say a future version of this device could include multiple deeds making for a more detailed image.
And this version was built using fairly inexpensive components that really any of us could buy.
So don't be surprised if disappears on someone's holiday wish list in a year or two.
That's it for this week.
I'm Andy Altman.
See you in the future.
