The basic technology used in cheap 3-D postcards and novelty items has been adapted to create six-dimensional images that respond to changes in light and the viewer's direction.
While the display is still pretty small, 7-by-7 pixels, the researchers hope that within the next two to three years they could scale it up to create some of the most realistic images available.
Instead of using parallel lines to create the image, the researchers used squares to create lenses that present different images at both vertical and horizontal angles simultaneously.
It's not all about the light coming out of the display though. Unlike a TV, where information only goes in one direction, the 6-D display would respond to changes in the illumination around it, like passing shadows or bright highlights.
Imagine two flowers side by side, one real, one holographic, says Raskar. Then shine a flashlight on them both.
"They would both look real," said Raskar. "But if you shine a flashlight on the hologram, light would pass right through it while the real flower would change in response to the light."
Using their new technology, the image the scientists create would actually respond to light like a real flower would.
source: http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/28/hologram-tech.html
