Sound holograms interview

In today’s day and age, we mainly see holograms on credit cards and drivers licenses. The surface of holograms are meticulously textured and covered in microscopic bumps that code the image. As light waves bounce off of the surface, the image is then distorted and appears to float in mid-air. Individuals in Germany are now applying that same principle with sound waves. This is done by printing a 3D piece of plastic that produces a lens, which then shapes sound waves that are projected from an underwater speaker. The sound waves from the speaker create an acoustic ‘landscape’, which is essentially making the dynamics and the overall sound appropriate. Furthermore, if you're able to shape sounds with plastic made from a 3D printer, then you should be able to create an object that can shape almost anything (including cells in a Petrie dish). In this interview, inventor Andrew Mark goes a little more into detail about the process.

Mark states that the goal of this task is trying to master and perfect shaping to enhance the overall experience of witnessing the hologram’s he and his team work so hard to create. “We’d like to have particular areas that are high intensity and other areas that are low intensity, and we do that through what we call an “acoustic hologram.” said, Mark. They use a transducer, or speaker, that projects sound waves through the hologram, and the hologram acts as a lens to change that sound wave. One task they were trying to accomplish was creating a 2D image from the hologram, and then shape that image into a dove. In other words, they are drawing pictures with these sound layouts. In the end, what you are left with is a well defined and shaped sound field.

With all of these advancements comes an unlimited amount of possibilities. We are only witnessing the beginning of the new wave of technology, the future has much to bring.

Citations:

Mark, A. (2016, September 27). Sound holograms [Interview by L.]. Retrieved March 2, 2019, from https://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/interviews/sound-holograms