CNN reported on 6 October 2008 that “Holographic television to become reality.”
Of course, the TV piece of it is only the tip of the iceberg, because 3-D holographic technology can be used in our organizations for all sort of presentations (forget about simple PowerPoint slideshows anymore), video-teleconferencing (think CISCO Telepresence on steroids), desktop computer applications (think Office and Internet applications that take place literally on your desk rather than on a flat screen). Also, holographic technology will be able to be applied to specialized areas such as tele-medicine (for example, battlefield surgery), more realistic professional training (all kinds), and enhanced command and control functions (such as common and user-defined operational picture for defense, law enforcement, and Intel), and much more.
Why is all this now seen as possible?
Recently, researchers at the University of Arizona had a major “breakthrough in rewritable and erasable holographic systems.” This is “prerequisite for any type of moving holographic technology,” like a television where “images would need to be changing multiple times each second,” says Dr Nasser Peyghambarian.
Dr.T ung H. Jeong, a retired physics professor at Lake Forest College outside Chicago, says that “We are moving toward the possibility of holographic TV…It has now been shown that physically , it’s possible.”
Peyghambarian believes that this “technology could reach the market within five to ten years.”
The challenge will be to produce it cheap enough to make it viable for the mass market.
As with most technologies that reach a basic level of maturity and profitability, competitors will rush in, drive down costs and commoditize the product.
We can look forward to this tremendous evolution in the way we watch and interact with information, applications, entertainment, training, and social media.
Users will have a richer and fuller experience by virtue of using this technology. It is the job of the enterprise architect to identify new technologies like this for our organizations and to plan the way ahead for their alignment with the business, adoption and use.
Holographic technology will change the way we conduct our operations in business, government, and our personal lives.