What the Tech? Hologams
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(ABC 6 News) – We all remember the scene in Star Wars “A New Hope” when Princess Leia appeared in a hologram asking Obi-Wan Kenobi for help because he was their only hope. How cool would that be for people like us to use holograms in real life?
At CES in January I discovered the military is already using holograms along with those in the entertainment world. ARHT Media displayed their technology called “Capsule” where anyone in the world can appear as a hologram in any other place in the world. In their CES booth, ARHT displayed a live hologram of an entertainer hosting a live trivia contest to anyone passing by. As a group gathered around a microphone, the host appeared life-sized in the Capsule. The host could see and hear the contestants and interact with them in real-time. I learned ARHT Media is already working with military leaders around the world.
“One of our clients is NATO and here we have a NATO general live from Virginia,” explained ARHT CEO Larry O’Reilly. “We beamed him live into a NATO ambassador’s luncheon in Brussels.” The full-size display is so clear it’s as if he’s standing there.
So how does it work? On its website, ARHT shares a video of a wedding reception. A bridesmaid couldn’t make the trip from London so, she stands in front of a green screen, camera, and microphone and magically is displayed at the reception to surprise the bride. O’Reilly says that “Capsule” can be used like this and in entertainment. The application for business is even greater.
“In the case of NATO, they spend an awful lot of money flying instructors to southern Germany and Virginia. So now they can just beam instructors from one to the other, saving a ton of money on travel costs.”
Ever since Princess Leia sent a message to Obi-One ("help me Obi-One, you're are only hope") people have dreamed of the day we could beam ourselves somewhere we can't be in real life.
Plus, trainees get instruction from the top level instructor who can appear at military installations all across the world without leaving his or her office or base. Another way ARHT’s Capsule technology can be used in the military is by offering family members the opportunity to meet their loved ones face-to-face wherever their family member is serving.