Infosys: Holograms on handsets by 2010

Holographic mobile handsets capable of projecting, capturing, and sending 3D images have been developed by Indian tech giant Infosys.

By 2010, the devices will routinely beam 3D films, games, and virtual goods into our laps, according Infosys, which has patented the handset.

The portable machines will capture and send 3D snapshots of the surrounding world, helping accident investigators, teachers, and doctors work remotely by instantly relaying realistic depictions of car damage, injuries, medical scans, or educational aids.

The powerful onboard processor on the Infosys machine would build a series of 2D shots taken, for example, from a digital camera, into 3D holograms using algorithms called 'Fourier' transformations to calculate the extra third dimension.

The patent, granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, says this allows complex 3D holographic images to be squeezed through the narrow pipes of existing communications networks by sending only the unprocessed data to be translated into the 3D hologram at the other end.

Infosys' device will be able to both send and receive these 3D images, displaying them using a projector with a laser source and micro holographic optical elements lenses.

The global 3D screen market is forecast by the industry to grow to 8.1 million units by 2010.

"Holographic handsets have the capability of enriching the user experience with an actual 3D experience and higher-quality images," an Infosys representative said. "This gives users a more realistic experience in areas like gaming, medicine, movies etc."

She said the technology would enable 3D images to be displayed without losing resolution, something that is not possible using current 3D technology such as stereoscopic displays.

Nick Heath of Silicon.com reported from London.

[umbrae]

Why do so many of my comments never get posted?

Anyway, from the patent it looks like this is probably a patent troll trying to gain money off anyone that figures out how to project a holographic image. Not much tech listed that cannot be derived from a Issac Asimov novel.

[dascha1]

shows the priority i think... instead of announcing that the Range Rover 2010 model will be capable of flying around the moon and back requiring only 1 gallon of petroleum for the buyer.

[nonicks]

This is cool.
It reminds me of that holographic printer from Jurassic Park 3.

Can imagine being surrounded by virtual 3D images.. looks like Minority Reports in practice..

[ancre007]

@umbrae: A patent troll with 91,000 employees (majority of whom are engineers), $3 billion in 2007 revenues and average annual revenue growth of 42% from 2002 to 2007? Perhaps you should check the facts before commenting?

[YankeePoodle]

ancre007, none of the facts you have presented disprove the "patent troll" argument. I will wait till a live demo and would make a judgement, just because there is patent pending is a patent has been granted does not satisfy me

[ancre007]

@YankeePoodle: My point is you cannot label someone a patent troll just because they filed a patent on something that might be hard to deliver. Google, IBM, Apple, Microsoft spend billions of dollars on R&D and come up with a bunch of stuff that never makes it into their commercial products. Do they patent those inventions that they are not able to translate into products? Of course, why wouldn't they? Are they patent 'trolls'? No, there is no proof to suggest that. So, why label Infosys as a patent 'troll'? Not innocent until proven guilty in patent world?

[softwaredesignengineer]

umbrae, you need to do some research first. SETLabs from Infosys have been heavy into research & development for quite sometime.

If you think they are a patient troll, then I guess you should call the likes of Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and all as patient trolls.

ancree077 has got a good point. You can't just label someone a patient troll for filing a patient. They even announced a date unlike many of the patients out there.

[dascha1]

Hmm... with budgets and 'smarts' mentioned no wonder we're at $4.50USD/gal. Then again, Microfuel, Petroogle, Axxlon and IBitgo does seem to have a little vibe putting their heads together. How would we make oil and gas look in 3D any way?

[gerrrg]

Uh...is no one else concerned that these creative ideas and the R&D to back them, normally coming from American engineers, are being hatched by an Indian firm? Seems like the world is a lot flatter than even Thomas Friedman suggested.

[dargon19888]

How do you patent mathematical algorithms?

Hint: The strength of this is use of FFTs which aren't patentable.

So are they saying their patenting the silicon that contains FFTs?
Or the idea of using 2D images to create a 3D image?

None of this is novel nor unique. Someone in the USPTO screwed up.

[audio-phile]

Thomas Friedman...the original troll how ironic he would be brought up in this discussion. "The World Is Flat" is culturally misinformed, historically inadequate and intellectually impoverished. Most of these comments are a sobering reminder of the intellectual paralysis gripping our society today. For the lesser educated amoung you this Flatheads book is a knockoff, Karl Marx wrote it for him over 150 years ago.

Incase you considered reading the book spoiler alert: The significance of Columbus's discovery that the earth is round is apparently lost on Friedman. On a round earth, the two most distant points are closer together than they are on a flat earth. But Friedman is going to spend the next 470 pages turning the "flat world" into a metaphor for global interconnectedness. Furthermore, he is specifically going to use the word round to describe the old, geographically isolated, unconnected world.

I point this out only to illustrate the significance of the Infosys announcement is apparently lost on most of you, and request you kindly jump overboard as soon as possible.

[Orengeman]

Help me ObeWonKenobe, you're my only hope.

P.S. - Wookies and Ewoks really did exist, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.

I'll believe it when I see it!

[stevenmcs]

[Fernyyy]

Yeah, I'll be using this 3D holographic phone while sitting in my auto-piloted flying car next year. Sure...

[jbaviera]

Sounds like another piece of tech that I'll end up getting weather I want it or not, and something else I won't use!

[Composer_1777]

This isn't a science article, it is not going to describe the exact methods or techniques in detail. Lighten up people,

[deecee]

Fourier transform has been around for hundreds of years, why does the editor quote that particular piece of the design, to add credibility? If the design is entirely dependent on Fourier's transform, then it won't be patentable, because Fourier's transform has been around so long it's long been public domain. What's next, some one designs a parachute based on Newton's laws of motions?

[tvarad]

I think the patent refers to how the sum total of the math is used to create a new method, not the math per se (which is obviously not patentable). If trolls can patent the software equivalent of using a door handle to open a door, a patent can certainly be granted in this case.

As for the tech, let's see how usable it is in real-life before going "wow".

[fjwalter]

A form of Fourier transforms are commonly used every day in audio and video compression, acoustic analysis, and any other type of frequency analysis.

It involves the conversion of data between the time domain and the frequency domain in both directions, which is why it is the basis for audio compression/decompression formats such as MP3 and video formats such as MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, and more.

A Fourier transform can be done in one (as in audio), two (as in video) or any number of dimensions. The concept is not new and is used every day for people who watch movies or listen to music.

Therefore, the mention of 'Fourier' transform in this article shows a lack of understanding and a lack of proper research on the part of the writer.