Microsoft Demonstrates Holograms with Phase-Only Displays

Microsoft Research has published a technical paper reviewing their work with near-eye displays for virtual and augmented reality to project phase-only holograms.

The team built a holographic projector that displayed a series of sub-holograms, which allowed the hologram to display variable depths of focused light. The projector was then combined with a series of eyepieces to achieve the displays.

With their prototype display, the team was able to achieve high-quality holographic images. By processing holograms in the GPU, the team rendered 3D models in real time with depth-of-field.

The research team also demonstrated the ability to correct vision defects, such as astigmatism and near/farsightedness, as well as hologram aberrations.

The implications of their findings could lead to displays that match human vision.

"In future work, we plan to integrate all these capabilities into a single hardware device while expanding the exit pupil to create a practical stereo display. In this way, we hope to become one step closer to truly mobile near-eye displays that match the range of capabilities of human vision," wrote the research team in the technical paper's conclusion.

A copy of the technical paper is available for download here.

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Cover image via Microsoft Research/YouTube