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Even though they call themselves holographs, almost everything still needs some sort of monitor or display: a pyramid or a flat surface. Until now that is. Tokyo-based Aerial Burton has created a holographic display that operates without any screen, surface or substance. It projects a 3D image into mid-air, using a pulse laser that ionizes air molecules.

Although the design is still a prototype, the company claims that this display can be used to help people in emergency situations, for example, power outage, earthquake or flood. People will be able to find evacuation routes and emergency supplies with the signalisation projected by this device. Right now the biggest challenge for the company is to achieve a better resolution for 3D images and that means improving the frame rate from 20 to 24-30 frame rates per second, close to what a digital camera produces in a video.

There is, however, one problem with the technology right now. Because Aerial Burton is using pulse lasers, the projections themselves would be dangerous to human beings and are also fairly loud because of the ionization process. Other researchers have developed smaller versions of the same thing, but these are too small to be used, although they can be touched without much damage.

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Until either of these turn into options that can be scaled up, pure holograms are still a distant dream.