Light Field Lab and OTOY Making the Star Trek Holodeck a Reality with Content Development
Tech firms Light Field Lab and OTOY are partnering to invent a system for holographic content creation, while Light Field Lab has entered into an agreement with Endeavor and Roddenberry Entertainment, which are developing holographic content.
Light Field Lab is a San Jose startup founded in 2017 that has so far raised $7 million in funding from venture firms such as Khosla Ventures - which is developing a headgear-free holographic display system. The current form is a system made up of 2-foot-long prototype holographic display panels. The company expects to begin manufacturing these panel next year, with an eye toward location-based entertainment and enterprise markets. The company's vision is a future with holographic TVs in the home, and eventually, on mobile devices.
"We're excited to use this platform to bring true holographic content to Light Field Lab's displays, which will give consumers unbelievable experiences, without the burden of 3D glasses or VR headsets," said Ariel Emanuel, CEO Endeavor.
Light Field Lab hopes to eventually create a sort of "Holodeck," along the lines of what was envisioned by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
To develop these holographic experiences, cloud graphics firm OTOY's ORBX open source and royalty free format for rendering are used, along with real-time graphics on Light Field Lab's display technology.