What is Holographic Augmented Reality (holographic AR) and how does it differ from traditional AR technology? Is it exclusive to gaming? How can we use it in other areas of our daily life? Can we create our own holographic AR programs and how? Despite the popularity of applications such as Pokemon Go, people are still clueless about what they can accomplish with AR. Add “holographic” to the already intimidating vocabulary, now people are truly confused to the maximum extent.
To address these questions, Integem organized an event at the Palo Alto City Library on September 15th. The goal is to showcase holographic AR’s capabilities and to give people, especially children, an opportunity to experience this futuristic technology first-hand.
Integem’s CEO, Dr. Eliza Du, opened the event by introducing holographic AR and its applications. She then proceeded to talk about Integem’s efforts at broadening the appeal of this invention. With over 10 patents under its belt, Integem is committed to developing cutting-edge, and easy to use tools that people of all ages and backgrounds can utilize to make their personal holographic AR experiences. Part of Integem’s initiatives is to educate children on how to compose and build their own AR stories through summer camps and various educational opportunities. Dr. Du herself, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning, has published over 100 papers and owns over 30 patents. Under her leadership, Integem aims to change the way people perceive and interact with their environments.
As Dr. Du explained, the most prominent advantage holographic AR has over traditional AR is its independence from external gadgets. Users can enter a virtual world and interact with everything residing in it through hand gestures and body movements, without a phone, a pair of glasses or a keyboard to distract them. This fully immersive experience is made possible by a simple setup that consists of only three devices: a camera, a computer running Integem’s iPlayer software, and a display screen.
Two summer camp alumni also came to share their experiences working with holographic AR.
Alice demonstrating her creation
Alice developed a dragon-themed game. She explained her design strategies and demoed her product with the help of a young member from the audience. The young kid was drawn into the game right away and was especially excited about the part where he got to fight the dragon. He moved swiftly in front of the camera, jumping up and down, to attack his enemy and to defend himself. At one point, an audio command prompted him to make a choice. Though slightly confused at first, he didn’t give up and finally conquered the dragon after three attempts. Everyone applauded him on his persistence and bravery.
A young volunteer demonstrated this game about spaceship and aliens in front of the audience. After jumping into the spacecraft, he was carried to outer space where he was asked to choose an alien to accompany him on his expedition. When he’s done, he rode the spaceship again to return to earth. He had such a blast playing this adventurous but straightforward game.
Not only our little players, but the adults in the audience also had a wonderful time learning and observing holographic AR in action. In response to everyone’s enthusiasm, Dr. Du asked everyone what they thought of holographic AR and where else they thought this technology can be of use? Never hesitant to voice their opinions, children shouted out creative ideas right away. Some said they wanted to use holographic AR to make awesome games. Some liked to use it to help with their schoolwork. Some thought it could benefit customers and retail merchants. Some, with too many ideas on their minds, simply said everywhere. Every participant received a small gift at the end as a token of appreciation.
After the event ended, many kids were still too immersed in the virtual worlds to leave, so they stayed and played more.
There’s an old adage that goes “for our children, we give them two things, one is roots, and the other is wings.” Integem will continue its efforts to provide young generations with innovative tools and training to help strengthen their creative wings so that one day they can soar above their imaginations
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Interested in what you saw? Join our team! We have a few volunteer and internship positions open:
- 1 leader in training, age requirement: above 12
- 1 entrepreneur in training, age requirement: above 10
- 3 reporters in training, age requirement: above 7
We will be hosting more hands-on events like this all around the San Francisco Bay Area in the coming months, the current lineup includes:
10/20 – Campbell Con at Saratoga, Ca
10/27 Cupertino Main Street
10/28 Los Altos Worksho
11/3 AT&T Park
Acknowledgment: Integem likes to thank DeLeon Realty for sponsoring this entertaining and educational event. For future sponsorship opportunities, please contact Integem. Thank you in advance for making a difference in our children’s education. Be sure to follow Integem to learn more about our latest offerings and exciting events like this.
