Michael Page has a vision, and it’s in autostereoscopic 3D.
Th assistant professor at OCAD University talks about a future where 3D holograms are not only rendered to look real to the eye, but also feel realistic to the touch. He imagines a medical trainer device that will allow the doctors of tomorrow to practice surgery on holograms before they try the real thing. After setting up the simulation on a console, the doctor in training would take hold of a joystick attached to the computer. Viewing the peripheral through a holographic transparency, the doctor sees a scalpel in her hand. In front of it is a holographic patient, the muscle sitting below the dermis exposed to better convey the biology at hand.
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The doctor moves her scalpel forward and cuts into the muscle. The hologram animates to react to the incision, and blood starts flowing. The joystick masquerading as scalpel provides force feedback to simulate the resistence of huma flesh to the blade as it is cut.
It might seem like a Star Trek fiction, but this is a prototype Page hopes to create with the help of some federal research funding. How does he plan to get there? ITBusiness.ca took a look at a holographic laboratory that will help.