MaxCo. has been pondering the idea of holographic
computer displays. After some in-depth research, the
words "laser" and "difficult" were identified as key factors
in this field.
By a remarkable coincidence, MaxCo. is, at present,
downsizing its FroodFly(tm) edible fruit-fly breeding
program,
after consumer testing reported that they don't
actually taste very much like fruit after all.
Not wishing to waste our considerable investment in both
programs, we have serendipitously developed the
Drosophila-based holographic display or, as the whizz-kids
in Marketing have christened it, the Drosophila-based
holographic display.
The display unit consists of a transparent cube, into which
a large number of Drosophila are introduced. The heating
elements ensure that they remain airborne most of the
time.
At the eight corners of the cube, there are motion-tracking
cameras, as well as low-power red, green and blue lasers.
The laser beams are modulated, and can be directed
wheresoever one wishes using micromirror arrays.
The image is fed into the processor unit of the Drosophila-
based holographic display, and immediately the cameras
start triangulating the positions of all Drosophila in the
cube. Each Drosophila is illuminated, millisecond by
millisecond, with the colour and brightness appropriate to
the point in space at which it finds itself. At.
The resulting 3D image is a little speckly, but persistence
of vision works wonders, and denser Drosophila swarms can
achieve decent frame rates and resolution. The entire
device can be powered from a single USB port, plus an
additional banana plug.