Holographic generators are not just the stuff of science fiction movies like Star Wars, we've seen 3D images displayed on special tables, experimental teleconferencing gear and even a pricey smartphone. Now the Looking Glass Factory has launched the Pro, an all-in-one 3D visualization workstation that allows business users to interact with holographic applications.
"After shipping thousands of standard and large Looking Glass dev kit displays to 3D content creators earlier this year, we received numerous requests from companies for a self-contained holographic solution that they could start using instantly, without needing to connect separate peripherals or an external computer," said the Looking Glass Factory's Shawn Frayne.
The 14.5 x 6.9 x 9.6 in (36.8 x 17.5 x 24.3 cm) Pro is such a turnkey holographic display that doesn't require its users to wear VR or AR head gear. At its heart is a powerful Intel NUC computer that comes loaded with a suite of software tools licensed for commercial use, including HoloPlay Unity SDK and HoloPlay Plugin for Unreal.
Out front is a lightfield display topped by a 15.6-inch touchscreen, with input resolution reported to be 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. There's a 7-inch fold-out secondary screen for navigation, and a Leap Motion controller is included for 3D spatial interaction. Potential use scenarios include 3D design and simulations, volumetric and 360 degree 3D video capture, architecture, medical visualizations, education, experiential marketing, and more.
When the Looking Glass Pro is turned on for the first time, users are presented with a sample holographic app library. Businesses can use these apps to display and interact with their own content out of the box, or make use of a special version of Looking Glass Unity, Unreal and three.js SDKs to create their own holographic apps down the line.
The Looking Glass Pro is priced at US$6,000, but carries a special pre-order price of $5,500 until June 2. It makes its debut at the Appliance & Electronics World Expo 2019 in Santa Clara, California, from May 29 to May 31. The video below has more.
Source: Looking Glass Factory
Since I'm viewing this on a regular 2D screen it's quite hard to judge how successful this display is.