Holograms, once only seen in science fiction, have now been successfully demonstrated by a team of researchers. The team has actually created the first-ever touchable three-dimensional hologram.
This breakthrough in 3D display technology has been achieved by researchers from the Public University of Navarra (UPNA), which allows natural hand interaction with virtual objects using an elastic diffuser and high-speed projections. According to the lead study author, Dr. Elodie Bouzbib, from the UPNA:
“What we see in films and call holograms are typically volumetric displays. These are graphics that appear in mid-air and can be viewed from various angles without the need for wearing virtual reality glasses (or headsets).”
Calling these true-3D graphics “particularly interesting,” Bouzbib stated that they allow for the “‘come-and-interact” paradigm.” What this means is that a user can simply approach the device and start using it. You can check out the explanatory video on the same here:
This way, the latest innovation introduces a groundbreaking shift in how we experience holograms, breaking the barriers between physical and virtual worlds to lead to a new era of truly interactive 3D displays.
A New Era of Virtual Interaction
Interestingly, the prototypes of volumetric displays are already commercially available in the market.
Voxon Photonics is one such company creating interactive volumetric holograms using its VLED technology, which is a combination of graphics processing software, multiplexing, compression, transmission, spatial LED matrix image rendering, and feedback.
The company’s products include VX2, a next-gen volumetric hologram technology compatible with standard 3D file formats and workflows, and VX2-XL, which provides increased visual clarity and a larger display area and is designed for commercial use.
Brightvox is another company that offers an imaging system that allows users to enjoy 3D virtual content from any angle in real space.
While commercial hologram prototypes already exist, none of them really allow for any direct interaction with them. This includes the ability to insert your hands and grab the virtual objects.
Direct interaction is nothing but a natural way of interacting with virtual entities. Here, the rendered graphics, which are the output space, are aligned with the interaction area, which is the input space, much like how we interact with real objects in the real world.
We already see this type of interaction in multi-touch flat screens, where we press the buttons with our finger, allowing us to move icons or rotate objects, much like how we would in real life.
“We are used to direct interaction with our phones, where we tap a button or drag a document directly with our finger on the screen – it is natural and intuitive for humans.”
– Lead researcher Asier Marzo
Volumetric displays can allow us to do the same by providing the majority of the visual elements we perceive from the real world. However, with current technologies, we can’t yet reach inside the hologram and interact directly with the virtual objects. That is until now.
This study, which is part of the InteVol project, whose focus is on developing and implementing a system for interactions with volumetric displays, is enabling the users to naturally interact with 3D graphics and utilize their innate abilities of 3D vision and manipulation.
True 3D Displays Change Everything
In our real world, everything is 3D, and that’s what we are used to, but the virtual world doesn’t work in the same way. Our vision interprets the space around us, and then, using our hands, we simply grab the objects and manipulate them as we like.
Unlike this, graphics rendered on the 2D screen provide us with occlusion (where one object blocks another from views and, as such, simulates realism in virtual displays), shadows, and the distance-size relationship, but cannot display convergence, binocular disparity, and focal point accommodation.
Wearable devices like Head-Mounted-Displays (HMDs), which show visual information directly to the user’s eyes, provide depth cues by presenting different images to each eye. This creates binocular disparity, but HMDs usually do not provide convergence and focus accommodation, which means users can’t focus correctly on their hands and nearby objects.
Advanced HMDs are currently exploring eye-tracking or holographic near-field displays to support these capabilities.
But of course, even then, the user has to wear the display, and that limits the ability of one or more users to just approach a system and start using it.
A true 3D display, however, renders graphics that one can view from different angles. Such displays do not force the user to wear any device but still provide the visual cues that 2D displays don’t.
Among different 3D tech, volumetric displays and holograms provide all the depth cues. As the study noted, a volumetric display is superior to holograms because it emits points of light from each position within a volume. Holograms, meanwhile, present problems like clipping and forbidden geometries.
Now, volumetric displays are primarily categorized in three ways:
The user, however, cannot insert their hand in these because not only is itn’t physically possible to touch a virtual object, as that will cause the levitation to stop working, but doing so can also damage the display or the user.
To make this possible, the researchers proposed replacing the existing rigid diffusers with swept volumetric displays.
Click here to learn how holographic 3D printing can enable researchers to print inside the human body.
Towards Natural, Intuitive Virtual Interaction
What volumetric displays do is that they project images synchronously at high speed. These images are projected on a fast-oscillating sheet, which is called a diffuser. The image projections occur at different heights, but our vision’s persistence enables us to perceive them as a complete volume.
Now, the problem here is that the optical diffusers these displays use are usually rigid. When they come into contact with our hands while oscillating, the diffusers may break or cause an injury to us. As such, interaction is performed indirectly using either a keyboard or a 3D mouse.
So, what the researchers did to tackle this problem was introduce the FlexiVol concept. Funded by the European Research Council (ERC), the study used an elastic diffuser in place of a rigid one.
Modifying volumetric displays with an elastic optical diffuser allows for deformations without damaging the display or harming the user. This means users can insert their hand within the rendering volume and directly interact with spatially overlapped true 3D graphics. This provides coherent focus accommodation, allowing for enhanced depth perception.
For this, the researchers tested different materials for their mechanical and optical properties. Elastane, also known as Spandex, Lycra, or Dorlastan, is the most commonly used material for elastic projection screens, so it was also used as the starting point for the study.
The challenge with elastic materials is that they are elastic, which means they cause deformation and, as a result, require image correction. So, instead of a continuous membrane, the team decided to use an array of strips having a 20 mm width to match the finger. So, when the user pushes them, only the pushed strips get distorted.
All the fabrics used in the study were laser-cut into 200 ×20mm2 strips along their elastic dimension with materials like silicone cured on top of an acrylic sheet with a spacer of thickness as desired.
Testing Human Response to Touchable Holograms
A user study was then conducted to assess the usability of FlexiVol and compare it with direct interaction using a 3D mouse.
In this evaluation, 18 participants, aged 20 to 40 years, took part. Only two participants had previous experience with a 3D mouse, while a few were gaming enthusiasts who had experience with joysticks. A handful of them (five) have visualized content on a volumetric display, but they never interacted with it through a 3D mouse.
The user study involved three tasks, Selection, Tracing, and Docking, in order to evaluate the FlexiVol’s design space validity.
The results showed a preference for their reach-through technique at 89%, while just two participants chose the 3D mouse condition. Over half of the participants spontaneously remarked that it felt “easier and more natural to interact with their fingers.”
When asked about it, four participants said it was “more intuitive,” with two others adding that we are more “used to interacting with our hands.” Most participants, meanwhile, find it fun to reach inside the diffuser.
As for any apprehensions, everyone felt it would make them feel a certain way – hurt and inconvenienced – but found that it didn’t. In fact, almost all participants mentioned the softness of the interaction, which was in contrast to their initial perception of it being hard.
The user study further revealed that all participants but one believed they had better performance when completing tasks using their hands. Only six felt more accurate with the 3D mouse, and twelve felt more confident using their hands.
While the completion time was significantly shorter using the reach-through method than with the 3D mouse, the study noted a trade-off between completion time and accuracy.
Beyond Screens: FlexiVol’s Futuristic Impact
When it comes to use cases, participants shared interest in using it to visualize 3D plans and collaborate with friends, and for medical purposes like surgery, film editing, and playing games. Participants also mentioned wanting to put their whole hand inside the volume and grab the object.
For now, the elastic diffuser has allowed the team to introduce new ways to interact with 3D graphics — naturally grabbing and manipulating virtual objects. For instance, one can grasp a virtual object like a cube between one’s index finger and thumb and move it. The team noted:
“Displays such as screens and mobile devices are present in our lives for working, learning, or entertainment. Having three-dimensional graphics that can be directly manipulated has applications in education — for instance, visualizing and assembling the parts of an engine.”
This innovation can also allow multiple users to interact collaboratively without requiring virtual reality headsets. In the real world, these volumetric displays can specifically be useful in museums, where visitors can approach and interact with the content.
As for limitations, the study mentions the need for longer-term fatigue and wear tests, testing advanced materials for a commercial FlexiVol device, a more ergonomic layout to bring down physical demand, and improvement in display size and resolution.
In their future work, meanwhile, the focus will be on designing elastic helical diffusers, using an adaptive rendering algorithm that adapts the projection in response to the user touch, adding haptics technologies to provide tactile feedback throughout the whole volume, and introducing the ability to insert other objects in the display volume and rendering graphics around them.
Overall, the researchers “believe that this simple yet significant improvement on volumetric displays creates new opportunities for exploring the unique advantages of volumetric displays and direct reach-through interaction.”
Innovative Companies
Immersion Corporation (IMMR -2.02%)
In the field of 3D display tech, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), there are several companies that are helping advance the space.
For instance, tech giants like Meta Platforms (META +0.45%) and Apple (AAPL +0.41%) are doing this through Oculus and Vision Pro headsets, respectively. Microsoft Corporation (MSFT -0.18%) is also making investments in volumetric displays, while Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL -0.83%) is involved in 3D visualization, ARCore, and virtual experiences.
Today, we’ll talk about Immersion Corporation, which specializes in haptics technology that enables users to receive tactile feedback through touch and is commonly used in wearable devices, automotive systems, gaming, and VR to enhance user experiences.
Haptics technology is a rising market, projected to grow from $3.30 billion in 2024 to above $9 billion by 2032.
Immersion, here, develops and licenses a range of software and IPs that fully engage users’ senses of touch when operating digital devices. Its segments include Immersion and Barnes & Noble Education. Its target application areas are wearables, mobile devices, virtual and augmented reality, console gaming, automotive, and medical.
The products offered by the company include TouchSense Technology to optimize actuators and haptic driver ICs for better performance, Active Sensing Technology to take haptics to the next level with motion sensing and smart control technology, and Kinesthetic and Force Feedback Technology for new user experiences.
The goal of Immersion is to enable touch everywhere in the digital world. Currently, over 3 billion devices are using its technology with more than 150 licensed customers.
Just last year, the company signed license agreements with three giants. In Feb., Immersion announced that it has signed a license with Meta to help them deliver high-quality haptics in their devices. As per the agreement, Immersion is making its patents available to Mark Zuckerberg’s company and its affiliates’ hardware, software, VR, and gaming products.
This followed the renewal of its license with Nintendo to continue to make Immersion’s patents available to the video gaming company and its affiliates. In May last year, the haptics technology developer also renewed a license with Samsung Electronics to continue enhancing the South Korean multinational consumer electronics corporation’s device interactions and software experiences through its high-quality touch feedback technology.
Immersion Corporation has a market cap of $240 million, with its shares, as of writing, trading at $7.41, down over 15% YTD. With that, it has an EPS (TTM) of 2.06, a P/E (TTM) of 3.60, and an ROE (TTM) of 33.11%. The company pays a dividend yield of 2.43%.
Immersion Corporation (IMMR -2.02%)
In March, it reported financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, as per which, total revenue was $474.8 million in the three months ended January 31, 2025.
GAAP Net income (loss) was $15.5 million, or $0.47 per diluted share, and non-GAAP Net income (loss) was $20.8 million, or $0.63 per diluted share. Meanwhile, GAAP Operating expenses were $79.6 million, and non-GAAP operating expenses were $74.2 million.
During this period, the company returned over $9 million to its shareholders through dividends and share buybacks.
“Immersion drove strong financial performance in the quarter. We continue to be laser focused on building our business and creating long-term shareholder value.”
– CEO Eric Singer
Last summer, the company acquired 42% of Barnes & Noble Education (BNED -0.67%), in turn, gaining control over the company through the five board seats appointed by Immersion. This move was made in an attempt to expand its business and diversity in the education sector. As of January 31, 2025, stock ownership of Immersion has decreased to 32.3% due to additional issuances of the bookstore’s common stock to noncontrolling stockholders.
Latest on Immersion Corporation
Conclusion
Holograms have been a thing of science fiction for the longest time, and while several attempts have been made to make it a reality, direct interaction with it hasn’t been achieved. By allowing users to naturally reach into and manipulate virtual objects, touchable holograms can help us take a transformative leap from passive 3D displays to truly interactive experiences.
So, the FlexiVol study, with its ability to allow direct reach-through interactions, pushes the boundaries of virtual interfaces as well as proves the viability of elastic diffusers for safe, natural hand interaction.
This volumetric display basically lays down the foundation for a new standard in 3D interaction design, though further advances in materials, haptics, and adaptive rendering are needed to take this commercial and redefine creativity, training, and collaborative work. With powerful possibilities for applications in education, entertainment, medicine, and beyond, this evolution showcases the potential to blend the digital and physical worlds more seamlessly than ever before.
Click here for a list of top augmented reality (AR) & virtual reality (VR) stocks.