Holograms: are they still the preserve of science fiction?
A projected Princess Leia in Star Wars suggested a 3D future, but we'll have to wait a while before we are playing holochess
The fragile apparition endured only long enough to say: "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope" before flickering out. But R2D2's 3D projection gave millions of young eyes, including mine, their first taste of holograms, and planted unrealistic expectations of a future playing dejarik, the gruesome game of holographic chess played on board the Millennium Falcon.
The concept of the hologram was already familiar, invented in the 1940s by physicist Dennis Gabor, but since the force reawakened the idea almost 40 years later, things haven't really moved on. Why aren't real, moving, Leia-style holograms now part of our day-to-day lives?
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