When holograms were first developed, they certainly seemed like a solution in search of a problem to solve. Engineers have found a wide variety of use cases for this kind of technology, however. Esoteric applications of 3D holographic displays are changing everything from the chemical industry to sales conferences and everything in-between.
Geographic intelligence might be the biggest growth area for 3D holographic displays these days. Governmental and private sector operators need sophisticated maps of the world around them. By utilizing holographic display technology, specialists have found that they can put together maps that aren’t like anything else on the market. Mineral exploration workflows are also getting a boost from 3D holographic displays since they enable geologists to get a full picture of what the inside of the soil in a particular area might look like.
Perhaps the most visible uses of holograms are in the advertising and marketing sectors. Hollywood special effects teams have also turned to them in places where computer generated images just wouldn’t work. Virtual reality applications have proven fairly accessible to the general public as well, due in no small part to the fact that these tend to be incorporated into popular games that are intended for mass consumption.
Laboratory modeling workflows have long been hampered by the two-dimensional images that they have to work with. Modeling molecules through a projector rather than a screen might help to give researchers a new lease on their work. It’s likely, though, that the next applications of hologram technology haven’t even been thought of yet.
