Are Holograms the New Augmented Reality?

We talk alot about augmented reality here at MovieViral, and with good reason. It has a lot of potential, of which we are only scratching the surface. We are coming into an age in which interactivity is the key to successful marketing. However, technology never sits idly, so now we have what may be the new augmented reality: holograms. Now, true holograms like that in Star Wars are not currently a viable marketing tool, as they are expensive and hard to create (see Minority Report for its potential, though). However, new technology is allowing us to experience perspective viewing for the first time, similar to how a hologram would.


What do I mean by “perspective viewing”? It means if you are watching something, then as you move or the object moves, you can actually see the image from different perspectives or angles. Usually, if you watch TV, if you move, the image stays the same. What new technologies, like the accelerometer and compass in the iPhone, do is change what you see depending on its orientation to the viewer. See the two videos below to see what I mean.

The second video is a technology called “Hyper Reality” or “Head Tracking”, and supposedly Apple is interested in using it for displays. Both methods are extremely useful, as they give the viewer a much more immersive experience when watching videos or playing games. You may even noticed the Avatar-like helicopter in the first video. Just imagine playing a game like Avatar where you can actually move your head to see around trees, or move your iPhone to get a better view of the Enterprise from Star Trek. The possibilities seem endless.


What do you think? Are holograms/perspective viewing the wave the future or just a gimmick?