High-quality optical holograms are combined with interactive graphical elements - leading to hybrid 3D displays that provide extraordinary realism.
Final Report Abstract
Among all imaging techniques that have been invented throughout the last decades, computer graphics is one of the most successful tools today. Many areas in science, entertainment, education, and engineering would be unimaginable without the aid of 2D or 3D computer graphics. The reason for this success story might be its interactivity, which is an important property that is still not provided efficiently by competing technologies - such as holography. Just like computer graphics, optical holograms are being applied as tools to solve individual research, engineering, and presentation problems within several domains. Up until today, however, these tools are applied separately. The goal of this project was to investigate possibilities of combining the advantages of conventional holograms (i.e. extremely high visual quality and realism, support for all depth queues and for multiple observers at no computational cost, space efficiency, etc.) with the advantages of today's computer graphics capabilities (i.e. interactivity, real-time rendering, simulation and animation, stereoscopic and auto stereoscopic presentation, etc.). Reconstructing the object wave only partially using a digital reference wave was the key concept of integrating graphical elements into optical holograms. Digitally projected light was used for modulating a hologram's object wave with respect to its spatial distribution and amplitude. Thereby, the holographic emulsion itself can be used as optical combiner, since it remains transparent if not illuminated in the correct way. Raster displays can be placed behind the holographic film and projected light can be used for replaying the hologram in a controlled way - synchronized with the presentation of the graphical components Several general real-time rendering and illumination techniques have been developed that achieve consistent occlusion and shading effects between optical holograms and computer generated graphics using a digital illumination. To study the potentials and limitations of an augmentation for a variety of different hologram types, such as rainbow holograms, volumetric multiplex holograms, digital holograms, full color Denisyuk holograms, and monochrome reflection holograms, different display prototypes have been developed. These prototypes applied multiple visualization schemes, such as stereoscopic and autostereoscopic graphics, as well as several interaction techniques, and severed as platforms for experiments with small-scale and large-scale holograms. The project focused on investigating general potentials and limitations of the proposed method, on developing basic techniques, and on a proof of concept. These methods, techniques and concepts, however, have now to pass the prototype stage. When mature and robust enough, they may lead to new visualization tools for science, industry and education.
Publications
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Bimber, 0., Augmenting Holograms, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 26, no. 5, pp. 12-17,2006 [Bim04-06] Bimber 0. and Raskar, R. Spatial Augmented Reality, Course Notes, Eurographics 2004, Siggraph 2005, and Siggraph 2006.
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Bimber, 0., Combining Optical Holograms with Interactive Computer Graphics Holography, SPIE International Technical Group Newsletter, vol. 16, no. 1, pp, 1+9, June 2005
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Bimber, 0., HoloGraphics: Combining holograms with interactive computer graphics, The HoloGrapher, April 2004.
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Bimber, 0., Merging Graphics and Holograms, Journal of Holography and Speckle, vol.3, pp. 1-7,2006.
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Bimber, O. and Raskar, R., Spatial Augmented Reality: Merging Real and Virtual Worlds. A K Peters LTD (publisher), ISBN: 1-56881-230-2, July 2005
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Bimber, O., Combining Optical Holograms with Interactive Computer Graphics, IEEE Computer, vol. 37, no. 1, pp, 85-91, 2004
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Bimber, O., Zeidler, T., Grundhöfer, A., Wetzstein, G., Möhring, M., Knödel, S., and Hahne, U., Interacting with Augmented Holograms, In proceedings of SPIE Conference on Practical Holography XIX: Materials and Applications, January 2005.
