Just before the end of 2025, I travelled to Uxbridge, north-west London, to see Musion 3D’s newly opened World’s Largest Hologram Showroom (WLHS). The site is located within The Atrium, a conventional mixed-use commercial-technology building whose exterior offers little indication of the optical and computational systems operating within.

Holography, once the domain of high-energy lasers and complex camera arrays, is now entering the realm of everyday consumer technology. A recent study published in Optics Letters demonstrates how a single smartphone – specifically, an iPhone 13 Pro – can be used to generate full-parallax holographic portraits, offering a low-cost and accessible alternative to traditional methods.

Researchers from EPFL’s Laboratory of Applied Photonic Devices, led by Christophe Moser, in collaboration with Jesper Glückstad’s team at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), have revealed a breakthrough in 3D printing.

Sanyo Chemical, a global manufacturer and supplier of performance chemicals based in Kyoto, Japan, has launched HILUCIS, a UV-curable nanoimprint resin designed to enhance the development of next-generation optical devices for Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc (NASDAQ: WiMi), a global hologram augmented reality (AR) technology provider, has announced the development of a hybrid CPU- FPGA quantum AI simulator.

As was evident by the number of booths displaying augmented reality (AR) glasses and AR head-up displays (HUDs) at CES 2024, the two technologies are set to make a big impact in the consumer electronics market. These cutting-edge technologies share many similarities, but also exhibit distinct differences. A recent blog post by UK-based Envisics1 compares and contrasts the two technologies, with particular focus on their use of holographic optical elements (HOEs).

Researchers are one step closer to a new era of immersive displays as they use holography to blend the real and virtual worlds that can be viewed through ordinary eyeglasses. This advance, spearheaded by Princeton University researchers and reported on the university website, promises to revolutionise how we experience visual media.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a full-colour 3D display method that utilises a smartphone screen rather than a laser to create holographic images. With further development, the new method can be used for augmented reality displays.

Cambridge-based 3D tech start-up VividQ has announced the launch of real holograms projected through high-performance 4K display hardware. The ability to deliver ‘retina resolution’ type computer- generated holograms means that next-generation VR headsets will be able to offer unparalleled levels of immersion and realism to users.

Lighting has long been acknowledged as a key element in shaping the atmosphere of any event, and recent advances in technology have brought innovative approaches to transform spaces into captivating 3D experiences.