How To Use Your Phone To Project 3D Holograms

Image by XoZeN via Flickr

Everyone’s talking about 3D holographic technology from Oculus Rift and Microsoft HoloLens, all the way up to advanced 90 degree 3D-holoshow system options that are available on the market. But what if you could hack your smartphone hardware without damaging it, or voiding your warranty?

Well, now you can.

How to Hack Your Phone Hardware for 3D Holograms

1. What you need:

In order to hack your mobile phone into displaying 3D holograms, you will need the following items:

• Smart phone
• X-Acto knife
• Scissors
• Pen
• Tape (or super glue)
• CD case
• Graph paper

2. Cut the CD Case

You will need to cut four pieces from a CD case with a template of a basic rhombus shape. As the video explains, cut out your shape templates from graph paper and place them on your CD case, draw the lines of where you’d like to place your cuts, and then cut out your shapes with a scalpel, cardboard cutter (X-Acto knife), or the like.

3. Assemble and Affix

Now it’s time to assemble and fasten your pieces together with tape or super glue. Allow the adhesive to dry completely, and then place the object on top of your smartphone or tablet screen.

4. Holographic Content

Once you’ve got the four sides of your projection table put together and it’s placed in the centre of your device screen, seek out some content on YouTube that is specifically designed for this very application!

Only a Gimmick

This form of 3D holographic projection is much more of a gimmick; perhaps something to demonstrate your nerd supremacy, but other than that, I can’t imagine watching a movie that way.

We’ve still got a little way to go before we reach the “critical mass” of 3D holographic projection and it can fit into our pocket. There are however other forms of 3D holograms that are not merely a gimmick –but instead are capable of bringing to life everything from a graphical interface to a dead musician; the sky is truly the limit.

The Best 3D Holograms Available

One of the most beautiful 3D holographic projection events that I have personally seen come out of the UK from a company called Activ8 Events.

In their repertoire they’ve got a diverse range of holographic applications, from mannequins to full 3D holographic sets and pre-recorded holographic performances. One of my favorite examples of 3D holograms would probably be the nightclub they blew up with holograms a little while back.

It was a sweet 90-degree 3D-holoshow system that will be remembered by myself and those in attendance forever. It was like Alice in Wonderland on 20 shots of adrenaline, and every dubstep drop was carefully structured, planned, and positioned.

In Conclusion

Yes, it is fun to make holograms on our phones –but we’re still a wee bit off from people generally being able to walk around with holograms in their pockets. Until then, we’ve got companies like Activ8 to effectively fill in for the meantime!