The iconic “Star Wars” scene where R2-D2 projects a 3-D image of Princess Leia could be a reality sooner rather than later.
Brigham Young University physicist Daniel Smalley has developed a new technology, dubbed “volumetric display,” aiming to move beyond holograms and create moving 3-D images that can be seen from any angle. The tech functions as a “high-speed Etch a Sketch,” as the latest “Nature” journal describes it, using lasers to project its image.
“This is doing something that a hologram can never do — giving you an all-round view, a Princess Leia-style display — because it’s not a hologram,” Miles Padgett, an optical physicist at the University of Glasgow, told “Nature.”
So far, the technology is only being used on small pictures, with Smalley’s team recreating an image of a butterfly and a moving spiral outline. The projections were only a few millimeters, but some scientists see it as a leap forward from the “standard” hologram tech, which is only 2-D and lacks depth. Another bonus for volumetric display — it looks the same no matter what angle you’re looking at it from.
The tech’s breakdown in “Nature” (per “Nature”)
“You can have a circle of people stand around it and each person would be able to see it from their own perspective. And that’s not possible with a hologram,” said Curtis Broadbent, of the University of Rochester, to the New York Post.
While researchers work on beaming more life-sized images, it looks like “Star Wars” fans won’t have to wait another 41 years for this tech to become a reality.
'Star Wars: The Last Jedi': 8 A-List Cameos to Keep an Eye (and Ear) Out for (Photos)
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is finally here, and much like "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One," it is filled with celebrities who oh-so-badly wanted to be a part of a galaxy far, far away. From past "Star Wars" directors to the next King of England, these cameos come in blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots or in the voices of bizarre alien creatures on Canto Bight, the newest Star Wars planet that looks like Galactic Monaco. Here is some to look out for when you watch the movie:
Lucasfilm
When Gareth Edwards wrote "Rogue One," he put Rian Johnson in front of the camera for a special cameo. Now, Rian is returning the favor in "The Last Jedi." If you can remember to do so during the film's heart-pounding climax on the salt planet of Crait, look for Edwards as a Resistance soldier fighting in the trenches.
As hardcore Warwick Davis, who famously played Wicket the Ewok in "Return of the Jedi," has made cameos in "Star Wars" movies ever since. Here, he voices one of the rich, greedy creatures gambling their ill-gotten gains away on Canto Bight.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a long history with Rian Johnson, starring in his 2005 debut film "Brick" and his nail-biting sci-fi film "Looper." He also has a voice cameo as one of the gamblers on Canto Bight.
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Another star of "Brick," Noah Segan, also has a long-standing relationship with Rian Johnson. He appears in this film as an X-Wing pilot who fights in the opening battle against a Dreadnought Star Destroyer.
Very mild spoiler here: As part of a mission, Finn and Rose are instructed to go to Canto Bight and search for someone wearing a floral pin. That pin is worn by a craps-throwing Canto Bight gambler played by Justin Theroux, star of HBO's "The Leftovers" and writer for films like "Tropic Thunder" and "Iron Man 2."
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It might become a new tradition to have big stars play Stormtroopers in these new Star Wars movies. Daniel Craig played one in "The Force Awakens," and here, Tom Hardy plays one in a scene where Finn and Rose disguise themselves as First Order officers to sneak onto Supreme Leader Snoke's mothership. But he's not the only famous Stormtrooper in that scene...
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The future King of England, Prince William, and his brother, Prince Harry, also play Stormtroopers on Snoke's ship. Like Hardy, you probably won't be able to spot them, but they also got a "Star Wars" moment of their own this week, when BB-8 bowed to them as they arrived at the film's London premiere.
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These guest roles are easy to miss
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" is finally here, and much like "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One," it is filled with celebrities who oh-so-badly wanted to be a part of a galaxy far, far away. From past "Star Wars" directors to the next King of England, these cameos come in blink-and-you'll-miss-it shots or in the voices of bizarre alien creatures on Canto Bight, the newest Star Wars planet that looks like Galactic Monaco. Here is some to look out for when you watch the movie:
Lucasfilm
