Human holograms and the evolution of media
By Linc Gasking
One of the first humans we recorded as a hologram last year was a mom named Ashley who cradled her 4 month old baby Reese as she left a message to the future for her daughter to experience when she’s older. Six months later we brought Ashley back to experience her own holographic message in VR for the first time. She put on the VR headset and stood in front of herself holding Reese. After taking in the moment, she stepped into her own hologram and instinctively cradled her arms like before and looked down at her four month old baby again. She noticed her tiny hands and feet, and as she stared into her blue eyes, she felt an emotional connection so powerful she didn’t want to leave. That intense moment, as Ashley re-lived that memory, was a glimpse into the future of media and human communication.
Humans first started recording our memories and stories with cave paintings, and while the tools and artistry evolved, the next major shift came 40,000 years later with the invention of photography, enabling automation and scale. For the past 50 years, humans have been in the process of a new transition: moving from 2D to 3D. As the world begins to consume volumetric 3D content using virtual and augmented reality enabled devices, it’s becoming increasingly evident that we’re in the midst of the next big shift in media. Before we started 8i, computer graphics was the the primary way to create human characters in 3D, more akin to painting than photography, but we now have the technology to create photorealistic 3D holograms at scale using video.
Human communication for future Mars missions
It’s not hard to imagine that in 20 years when humans finally take that journey to Mars and make the red planet their home, they will communicate with loved ones on Earth as 3D holograms. The holodeck will be real. That’s why we’re so inspired to be part of a NASA-funded effort to study how holographic recordings can potentially be used to help astronauts better cope with the negative psychological effects of long term isolation. As part of the pilot, we recorded inspirational holographic messages to Mars mission astronauts and scientists from Buzz Aldrin and Reggie Watts. The first group of NASA scientists to experience the holograms on a VR headset were isolated for 12 months in a remote Mars simulation hab. You can read more about that project here.
We’re also excited to announce a partnership with Time Inc. to share these holographic messages with the world soon on TIME and LIFE VR. People will have a chance to experience a personal Mars-inspired performance from the one-of-a-kind artist Reggie Watts in VR. And future generations will have a chance to meet Buzz Aldrin in VR as he shares his vision for mankind’s journey to Mars. Enabling Buzz to leave his legacy behind as a gift to the future has been a true honor.
As media continues the shift to 3D, we’re excited to enable the evolution of human communication with our holographic technology. It’s hard to say for certain whether people in the future will consume media on virtual reality, augmented reality or mixed reality devices, but we’re confident that photorealistic human content will continue to be what people watch the most and that 3D holograms will be the way we communicate with each other.
