Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.tis.llnl.gov!blackbird!news
From: news@blackbird.afit.af.mil (News System Account)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: 3d Computer Generated Holography
Keywords: What's happening in the field?
Message-ID: <1306@blackbird.afit.af.mil>
Date: 24 Aug 89 17:13:37 GMT
References: <441@ctycal.UUCP>
Reply-To: tmouser@galaxy-43.UUCP (Tommy A. Mouser)
Organization: Air Force Institute of Technology; WPAFB, OH
Lines: 33

In article <441@ctycal.UUCP> ingoldsb@ctycal.COM (Terry Ingoldsby) writes:
>I'd like to start a discussion on computer generated holography in
>general, and 3D computer generated holograms (CGH) in particular.  If this
>should go elsewhere, then please tell me.  I thought it fit here since
>CGH is the ultimate computer graphics.
>
>I have dabbled in 2D computer generated holograms, producing them on a
>computer and reproducing them using a laser.  I recently heard that
>some researchers (at MIT?) had been playing around with 3D stuff.  Does
>anyone know how they are doing it?  Is anyone else interested in this
>topic?

The research at MIT, that I`m aware of, is being conducted by Steve Benton.
He's producing Synthetic Holographic Stereograms.  In general they produce
a series of perspective views using convential computer graphic techniques.
Each image is then projected with laser light onto a sheet of holographic
film from the angle corresponding to its computed viewpoint.  The effect
is to provide the visual properties of an actual hologram.  This works because
each eye receives a different perspective view.  As you move around you get
the stereoscopic effect, hence 3-D.

There have been several articles written in the SPIE journals.  Volume 
761 has one titled "Alcove Holograms for Computer_Aided Design".

As far as work being done on actual 3-D CGH, the Air Force Institue of
Techology is doing some work in this area.  They are using points to 
describe an object and then calculating the light propogated from
a point on the object to every point in the hologram plane.  This
is being done without the use of Fourier analysis.  Anyway, the 
calculated intensity pattern is plotted out and photo-reduced
onto a holographic plate.  

tom