Skype? That’s so 21st Century. In the future, we’ll all communicate like Darth Sidious, ordering our minions around in the form of three-dimensional holograms.
The technology is called TeleHuman and it’s being developed by the Human Media Lab at Queen’s University in Ontario. It works by pairing six Kinect sensors with a 3D projector placed in the bottom of a cylindrical pod that reaches nearly six feet in height.
The result is a 3D image of the person you’re talking to, detailed enough that you can walk around and view the person from every angle. Why this is better than regular videoconferencing I’m not sure, but it’s still pretty cool. Personally, I’m looking forward to when I can get on a three-person conference call with my editor and the Tupac hologram.
Queen’s University isn’t the only one trying to make 3D videoconferencing a reality. Microsoft’s holodesk, which I wrote about earlier, lets you send 3D objects that can be manipulated by hand. We’re getting much closer to the holodeck, scientists; don’t let up now.
[via KurzweilAI]
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