A method for producing a computer-generated hologram, including the method steps of generating a reference beam, generating an object beam, imprinting computer-generated information pertaining to the hologram to the object beam, and overlapping of the object beam and the reference beam on or in a photosensitive recording medium for imprinting the hologram, wherein successively a plurality of portions of the photosensitive recording medium are simultaneously impinged upon with the object beam and the reference beam to produce a plurality of sub-holograms, and wherein the angle of incidence at which the reference beam is incident on the surface of a first portion of the recording medium is different from the angle of incidence at which the reference beam impinges upon the surface of a second portion of the recording medium.

A volumetric display system including a volumetric display for displaying a scene viewable as a three-dimensional floating-in-the-air scene in a display space, enabling a user to reach a first object into the display space, a location determination unit locating real objects in the display space, providing a location of the first object when the first object is inserted into the display space, and a computer for receiving the location of the first object, detecting when the location of the first object is at a location where an object is displayed in the three-dimensional scene, thereby determining that the first object is viewable as touching the displayed object following a detection of the first object viewable as touching the displayed object, producing a new three-dimensional scene displaying the displayed object as if manipulated by the first object. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

An additive manufacturing device may include a material supply, a robot, and a printing head coupled to a distal end of the robot and configured to receive printing material from the material supply. The additive manufacturing device may have an IR holographic device configured to generate a targeting hologram, an IR sensor, and a controller coupled to the robot, the printing head, the IR holographic device, and the IR sensor. The controller may be configured to cause the printing head to dispense the printing material to form an object based upon the targeting hologram.

Disclosed are methods and systems for displaying images, and for implementing volumetric user interfaces. One exemplary embodiment provides a system comprising: a light source; an image producing unit, which produces an image upon interaction with light approaching the image producing unit from the light source; an eyepiece; and a mirror, directing light from the image to a surface of the eyepiece, wherein the surface has a shape of a solid of revolution formed by revolving a planar curve at least 180 around an axis of revolution.

An optical member utilizing light from a point light source is enabled to visually perceive a reproduced optical image with a desired color. An optical modulation device includes an optical member having a light control part to reflect or absorb light in a predetermined wavelength and to pass through light in other than the predetermined wavelength in light in at least a visible light band, in accordance with a reproduction reference image for reproducing an original image, and a light transmissive part to pass through light in at least the visible light range including the predetermined wavelength.

A predetermined lighting pattern is projected on a surface to be illuminated and the lighting pattern is displaced on the surface to be illuminated. A laser beam generated by a laser light source is broadened by a magnifying lens so as to generate a divergent light. The divergent light is shaped by the collimation lens into a parallel illumination light, and the parallel illumination light is caused to be incident on an incident plane of a diffraction optical element which records a hologram image. A diffracted light from the diffraction optical element forms the lighting pattern as a hologram reconstructed image on the surface to be illuminated. By translating the collimation lens by a collimation-lens drive unit along a movement plane that is orthogonal to an optical axis of the laser beam, the lighting pattern can be displaced on the surface to be illuminated.

A hologram image apparatus includes a plurality of holographic panels, each holographic panel comprising a transparent panel encoded with a portion of a composite hologram image. The hologram image apparatus also includes one or more light sources configured to illuminate each holographic panel of the plurality of the holographic panels from one or more incident angles to produce the composite hologram image.

An illumination apparatus using a coherent light source, comprising: a coherent light source that generates a coherent light beam, a microlens array including a collection of a large number of independent lenses; and a light beam scanning device that irradiates the light beam onto the microlens array and carries out scanning so that an irradiation position and an irradiation direction of the light beam on the microlens array changes with time. Each of the independent lenses included in the microlens array has a function of refracting light irradiated from the light beam scanning device and forming an irradiation region on a light receiving surface. The light receiving surface is not a refractive element, and is configured so that irradiation regions formed by the independent lenses become substantially a same common region on the light receiving surface. The irradiation regions being irradiated by light which is refracted by the independent lenses.

A phase modulation structure includes a recording surface including phase angle recording regions in a plurality of calculated element regions corresponding to reconstruction points of an image on a one-to-one basis, each phase angle recording region being formed of a plurality of unit blocks in each of which a phase angle is recorded, the phase angle being calculated based on a phase that is a sum of a plurality of phases of light from the corresponding reconstruction points; and a representative area that is one of divisions of the calculated element region, the representative area being obtained by radially dividing the calculated element region centered on a point on the calculated element region, the point being obtained by extending a normal line from the corresponding reconstruction point to the calculated element region on the recording surface.

A system includes a plurality of optical identifiers and a reader for the optical identifiers. Each optical identifier has an optical substrate and a volume hologram (e.g., with unique data, such as a code page) in the optical substrate. The reader for the optical identifiers includes a laser, and a camera. The laser is configured to direct laser light into a selected one of the optical identifiers that has been placed into the reader to produce an image of the associated volume holograms at the camera. The camera is configured to capture the image. The captured image may be stored in a digital format by the system.