Skip to main content

Looking Glass Portrait is the world’s first personal holographic display

Looking Glass Portrait - Your first personal holographic display

Looking Glass Factory, maker of holographic light field display tech, has announced the launch of what it calls the world’s first personal holographic display, the Looking Glass Portrait. A portrait-oriented system offering users a personal 7.9-inch holographic screen, the desktop device can create three-dimensional images with multiple perspectives, depending on your relative position, without the need to wear 3D glasses.

Recommended Videos

“It’s lightweight, portable, and can run holographic imagery on its own without always being connected to a computer,” Looking Glass Factory CEO Shawn Frayne told Digital Trends.

The Looking Glass Portrait ships with a copy of HoloPlay Studio, a software package that makes it easier to create a wide range of 3D content, and also allows users to make and upload everything from animated 3D characters to family pictures. All you need is a computer and a phone, such as a newer iPhone, that’s able to take Portrait mode photos to get started.

The device could be used by a range of creators, including photographers, moviemakers, Unity and Unreal developers, 3D designers, and more. “Looking Glass Portrait is a multipurpose holographic interface, meaning it can display any 3D content equally well, whether that’s a volumetric video, dental CT scan, or a fluid flow simulation,” Frayne said.

Looking Glass Portal
Looking Glass Factory

While it’s not quite ready to do 3D video calls out of the box, he suggested that this technology could well help pave the way for future 3D holographic video calls. “It’d be an understatement to say that COVID-19 accelerated things in this direction,” he said. “Everyone we cared most about was suddenly just a little rectangle on a screen in endless Zoom meetings, remote birthday parties, and the occasional awkward Google Hangouts happy hour. As the world locked down, the most important things in the world became how to better connect with one another, and how to better remember those moments from the Before Times. Holographic displays have a role to play here, and we believe it will be transformative in a way that few technological shifts have been.”

Looking Glass Portrait is currently raising funds on Kickstarter. Although it only launched today, it’s already hit its funding target, with more than a quarter of a million dollars raised so far. Prices start at $199 for the Super Early Bird Special, while those who get there a bit later can pick one up for $249. (The eventual retail price will reportedly be $349.) Shipping is currently set for April 2021.

As with any Kickstarter project, it’s worth pointing out that there is a risk inherent in any crowdfunding campaign. Products can ship late, not as described, or, occasionally, not at all. Nonetheless, if you’re happy to take a gamble on the desktop holographic display of your dreams, you can check out the campaign page here.

Luke Dormehl
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Bethesda is shutting down a game it had already forgotten about
talking tests gwent elder scrolls legends elderscrollslegends1

Bethesda might be one of the most beloved developers out there, but the studio has a series problem with long-term support for its games (except Skyrim — it gives all its support to Skyrim). Now, the company is shutting down The Elder Scrolls: Legends, its collectible trading card game that was originally set to be a Hearthstone killer.

Of course, this news doesn't come as a huge surprise to fans. Legends hasn't received an update since 2019 — only two years after its launch — and the player count has steadily dwindled. Bethesda did make some improvements to the game after it released, but it wasn't enough to revive the game in a marketplace that included Hearthstone, Gwent, Slay the Spire, and other un-put-downable titles.

Read more
iPhone 17 series could finally end Apple’s stingy era of slow screens
iPhone on charging stand showing photo screen in iOS 17 StandBy mode.

Apple has played a relatively slow innovation game when it comes to display upgrades on its phones. The company took its own sweet time embracing OLED screens, then did the same with getting rid of the ugly notch, and still has a lot of ground to cover at adopting high refresh rate panels.

The status could finally change next year. According to Korea-based ET News, which cites an industry source, Apple will fit an LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) screen across the entire iPhone 17 series, including the rumored slim version and the entry-point model.

Read more
Aptera’s 3-wheel solar EV hits milestone on way toward 2025 commercialization
Aptera 2e

EV drivers may relish that charging networks are climbing over each other to provide needed juice alongside roads and highways.

But they may relish even more not having to make many recharging stops along the way as their EV soaks up the bountiful energy coming straight from the sun.

Read more