By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8
DALLAS, Texas - Talk about reality TV.
Revolutionary holographic video technology invented in North Texas could change the way you watch everything on television within the next decade.
In the first Star Wars movie, Princess Leia was introduced to the audience as a three-dimensional projection, appealing for help from Obi Wan Kenobi.
But that Hollywood wizardry is now becoming reality in an ordinary-looking research laboratory at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
A ghostly image of a human heart projected in a container of gelatin is the world's first three-dimensional holographic movie.
"This could be a new wave of the future," said plasma physicist Skip Garner, who—along with his colleagues—based their prototype device on lasers, optics, sophisticated computer programs and a small Texas Instruments Digital Light Processing (DLP) computer chip covered with a million tiny mirrors.
In another demonstration, a military aircraft can be viewed from any angle with precise detail. Three-dimensional technology has far-reaching use for the military, and for medical doctors who could consult a 360-degree image of a diseased heart instead of a 2-dimensional X-ray.
The UT Southwestern scientists said 3-D TV is ready to be developed for medical and military applications right now.
And just imagine how this invention could change the way millions of Americans spend their Sunday afternoons on the sofa.
"We'll be able to look around the quarterback to see, well—does he have the ball hidden around behind him? Things like that which you can't really do," Garner said.
Although that day may still be 10 years off, the UT Southwestern scientists say 3-D technology will eventually revolutionize today's television.
The concept has earned a spot in the June issue of Popular Science magazine's list of the top five great ideas for the future—just behind the ultimate robotic roller coaster and a bionic eye.
WFAA ABC 8
A human heart stars in the first 3-D holographic movie.