After four years of development by a team of holographers, optical/mechanical/electrical engineers, Looking Glass has launched a holographic display that uses a combination of lightfield and volumetric technologies that enables groups of people to see and interact with a virtual 3D world on their desk, without the need for VR or AR headsets.
The Looking Glass, which resembles a heavy, glass box, is available in two models, in 8-9in and 15.9-in sizes. It uses a combination of light-field and volumetric display technology. The light-field display recreates the rays of light that bounce off the 3D content, and the volumetric display helps create these animated objects in three dimensions.
It is designed to sit on a desk because it needs to be connected to a powerful PC/laptop.
It already has some high profile backers; "Finally people can actually build experiences, build interactions that happen in 3D in autostereoscopic, no glasses in 3D, its what everyone wanted al along," said John Underkoffler, CEO of Oblong (and creator of the Minority Report interface).
The project is currently in Kickstarter, where it has far exceeded its original target. The Looking Glass starts at $600 for the smaller version, but the price jumps up to $3,000 for the larger model. Some early units will ship in September, with the rest to follow in December.