Drosophila-based holographic display

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.