The road to “ideal holograms” must pass through the territory of projection. Microsoft Research’s experiments are a clear proof, but it’s always worth looking at concepts that could bring this fabulous technology to our desktops. That’s how we discovered the HTD-01, a transparent monitor with a 27-inch screen, rear LED projection, and 1080p resolution.
A moment ago I talked about LG’s OLED screen that is 0.97 millimeters thin. It’s hard to imagine a screen could get any thinner… unless you eliminate it altogether. Projectors do exactly that by placing images onto a canvas, but that’s not quite what we want here. The idea of transparent smartphones has come up more than once, and that same essence has been transferred to computer screens. Countless science fiction works show us monitors made of light, with text and images floating before our eyes. We’re still a bit far from that, but if projection technology can be optimized and a very thin glass is used…
The HTD-01 Concept
… we’d have something like the HTD-01 concept, presented by the folks at NumberOne. Its introduction speaks of “the last screen on the road to holography,” and although it seems a bit optimistic to me personally, the concept itself isn’t far-fetched.
The screen is 27 inches with a 16:9 aspect ratio, and the projection system offers a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. The “base,” so to speak, has two USB 3.0 ports, two HDMI ports, and an optical audio connection to use the integrated 2.1 speaker system. Its compatibility extends to PC and Mac (though I see no problem connecting this to a console), and when turned off, the glass becomes completely transparent.
I insist: the HTD-01 is a simple proof of concept. I suspect those behind it are evaluating the possibilities of building this monitor and bringing it to market through a crowdfunding campaign. Picoprojectors are a reality, but as far as I know, there’s nothing in a “pico” format with native 1080p resolution (if you know of one, please share), and the ones that do exist come at a high price. Time will tell whether the HTD-01, or something similar, becomes a reality.
