WARNING - Science Content!
In case you weren't watching CNN last night, they claimed to be using "holographic technology" in their reporting. I saw it in action last night, but was immediately skeptical. I'm waiting to see what information is released about it...
You can tell that the image was just overlaid into the video feed by the way it 'fuzzes' into focus. It goes from 2D to apparent 3D as they load in the image. Also, before the image appears, there is nothing in the studio save for the red spot on the floor. Just to dispel any false beliefs on the matter - you CANNOT project an image onto air! There needs to be some sort of reflective medium for the light to project onto and reflect off of, be it a cloud of smoke, a sheet of plastic, or a really fine mesh screen. You can only see light directly from the source or as it is reflected. If you look at a light bulb shining against a wall, you can't see the rays of light as they travel from the bulb to the wall. If there is smoke or steam in the air between the bulb and the wall, then it appears that you can see the actual light ray, but instead you are seeing the reflection of the light off the particles suspended in the air.
Found a video from Cisco that showcases the technology a little. They use a bunch of HD cameras surrounding the target to acquire the 3D image data and then use computers to process it. In this Cisco video, the image seems to be projected onto a screen, whereas in the CNN video, the image is overlaid into the video feed. If you pause the Cisco video at 1:30/3:59, you can see what appears to be some sort of screen covering the stage. Luckily someone took a flash photo at a time interval that the video can be paused at.
Click to viewYou can tell that the image was just overlaid into the video feed by the way it 'fuzzes' into focus. It goes from 2D to apparent 3D as they load in the image. Also, before the image appears, there is nothing in the studio save for the red spot on the floor. Just to dispel any false beliefs on the matter - you CANNOT project an image onto air! There needs to be some sort of reflective medium for the light to project onto and reflect off of, be it a cloud of smoke, a sheet of plastic, or a really fine mesh screen. You can only see light directly from the source or as it is reflected. If you look at a light bulb shining against a wall, you can't see the rays of light as they travel from the bulb to the wall. If there is smoke or steam in the air between the bulb and the wall, then it appears that you can see the actual light ray, but instead you are seeing the reflection of the light off the particles suspended in the air.
Found a video from Cisco that showcases the technology a little. They use a bunch of HD cameras surrounding the target to acquire the 3D image data and then use computers to process it. In this Cisco video, the image seems to be projected onto a screen, whereas in the CNN video, the image is overlaid into the video feed. If you pause the Cisco video at 1:30/3:59, you can see what appears to be some sort of screen covering the stage. Luckily someone took a flash photo at a time interval that the video can be paused at.