To use a hologram to talk to your friends from anywhere

3D telepresence

You’ve chosen to imagine calling a faraway friend who appears life-sized beside you as a 3D image. You might want to learn more about 3D telepresence, which can capture and send 3D images so people feel more present across long distances. Some systems use true holographic techniques, while others use stereoscopic displays or projected images. Just remember: hologram friends still need permission before popping into your bedroom!

Fun Facts:

In 1964, a 3D hologram of a toy train was so impressive that scientists lined a hotel hallway to see it.
Microsoft’s Holoportation can capture a person in 3D and send their moving digital form somewhere else in real time.
HP Dimension with Google Beam can show a faraway caller life-sized in 3D without making either person wear a headset. It is a 3D video system rather than a conventional hologram.

3D telepresence

LISTEN

This scenario explores 3D telepresence, which uses cameras and computers to capture a person and send a moving representation to another place. Some systems reconstruct the person as a 3D model for a headset, while others use stereoscopic displays or reflection effects to create a convincing sense of depth. Future calls could help friends feel closer across long distances, but we should still choose when cameras capture our bodies and rooms. And your hologram friends still need permission before popping into your bedroom!

Fun Facts:

Dennis Gabor worked out the basic idea of holography in the 1940s, before lasers even existed.
In 2010, a University of Arizona team made a changing holographic display that could refresh a 3D image every two seconds.
Microsoft’s Holoportation technology can save a 3D visit so people can replay the experience later, much like a video.
Microsoft’s mixed-reality telemedicine technology has connected doctors in Scotland with clinicians and patients at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.
Proto’s telepresence displays can beam a live speaker onto a faraway event stage and allow two-way conversation. The effect is often marketed as holographic, although it does not use traditional holography.

Discussion Question:

How might hologram calls change friendships when people live far apart?

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Physical Build:

You can make a mini hologram communicator using a shoebox, clear plastic from packaging, paper, markers, and tape. Place the clear plastic at an angle inside your box and experiment with reflected images. Then design controls for starting a call, ending it, and protecting your privacy.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Invent three ways a future hologram call could help faraway friends feel together.”

Choose one idea, then draw your own hologram communicator. Add controls that let you decide who can appear, when calls happen, and what the cameras can see.

or a virtual reality headset that lets you visit any place in the world?

VR World Travel

Virtual Tourism

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You’ve chosen to imagine putting on a VR headset and visiting anywhere in the world without leaving your room. You might want to learn more about virtual tourism, which can make faraway places easier to explore for people who cannot travel easily. Just don’t forget your virtual passport!

Fun Facts:

In 1788, people in Edinburgh could stand inside a giant circular painting and feel as if they were looking out from Calton Hill, a famous hill with beautiful views.
Starlight VR lets hospitalized kids explore places like outer space, new cities, and the ocean without leaving their hospital rooms.
In one study, older adults averaging about 84 years old virtually visited places including Egypt, Paris, the International Space Station, and a scuba-diving site.

Virtual Tourism

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We’re exploring virtual tourism, or using VR to experience places without traveling there. In virtual tourism, a headset surrounds us with scenes that change as we look around. Older adults already use VR to revisit meaningful places and explore new ones. Hospital programs also give patients virtual adventures when leaving is difficult. So VR can make travel more reachable, but comfort and access still matter. And just don’t forget your virtual passport!

Fun Facts:

In the 1800s, stereoscopes let families look at 3D photographs of faraway places they might never visit themselves.
Rendever lets older adults virtually return to places like a childhood home, wedding location, or favorite vacation spot.
In a hospital demonstration, a young patient named Harlow watched dolphins underwater in VR while doctors removed her cast with a loud saw.
The real Lascaux cave in France has been closed to visitors since 1963, but VR can let people explore its ancient painted chambers virtually.
In a six-week VR tourism study, older care-home residents reported more social engagement and better quality of life after their virtual trips.

Discussion Question:

How could we make VR travel fair for people who cannot afford headsets?

LISTEN

Physical Build:

You can make a pretend VR travel viewer from a small cardboard box, paper, tape, and markers. Create several destination cards that slide into the viewer, such as a rainforest, city, ocean, or mountain. Add features like captions, sound controls, or a seated mode so different people can enjoy your invention.

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Digital Build:

With an adult, ask ChatGPT:

“Invent three amazing virtual trips for someone who can’t travel far today.”

Choose one trip and design the experience yourself. Draw what you would see, hear, and do, then add features that help many different people explore it.