The idea of communicating with each other via holograms has fascinated people for a long time – not just since the “Star Wars” films. Small and large companies have repeatedly ventured into the technology, but so far there has been no resounding success. Now the largest telecommunications providers in Europe want to change that and dare to join forces to promote holography. What is known about the cooperation so far.
Vodafone, Telefónica (O2), Deutsche Telekom and Orange have joined forces to create a platform that will enable the transmission of three-dimensional images in real time. Although it is technically feasible today, says Telekom, for example, holography has not yet been mass-produced due to the high level of effort involved. Together with the Slovakian software startup Matsuko, that is now set to change. All that is necessary, the companies promise, is a smartphone and VR glasses.
The holographic communication should work like a normal video call. In order to create the necessary 3D effect, an artificial intelligence and a 3D rendering engine calculate the depth data that the smartphone camera cannot capture. The computing power required for this is provided in the cloud and transmitted to the end devices via 5G or WLAN. The three-dimensional image of the other person should then be visible under VR glasses.
In a promotional video, Matsuko presented its vision in October 2021, using the world of work as an example of the technology. Together with the cell phone operators, it should now continue to pick up speed. The head of the company, Matus Kirchmeyer, puts the project in a nutshell: “The aim of the project is a holographic experience with a virtualized transmission approach. This should enable the audience to see a person virtually – as a hologram – with amazing realism.”
The companies give themselves two years until the technology is suitable for mass use and the hologram data can be transmitted independently of the network. In any case, the mobile phone companies are convinced of the potential. At Telekom one speaks of an “exciting phase” that brings the dream of telephony “as if my conversation partner were standing in front of me” close to reality. The French network operator Orange also considers the cooperation to be a “first but significant step towards the Metaversum”.
