Cubing the Screen: Volumetric Voxel Displays

Synopsis

In science fiction, the visual display of the future is often shown conjuring a three dimensional object out of light, viewable at any angle without loss of fidelity. In principle, one might build such a display simply by filling a volume with light sources, just as a 2d display is made by covering a plane with lights. Unfortunately, electronic light sources are opaque as rule, whereas a volumetric display must be transparent at all points not occupied by the image. To meet this requirement, researchers have investigated ways to spur photon emission from within transparent materials. This talk will review a selection of these projects, highlighting the variety of light-generating physical reactions which may be exploited to create volumetric displays.