Holoportation is now a thing

#3 of my Tech Predictions for 2022

Microsoft’s Holoportation solution makes You present when You’re not

In 2022 we will be acquainted with the first real solutions that allow us to port ourselves through space and time — and to be present on the other side of the world as a Real-time hologram.

In 2022 one of the world’s biggest comebacks will take place in London. Starting May 27 you will be able to see ABBA back on stage for the first time in 40 years. And magically they will look exactly as they did 40 years ago. Because they won´t be there in flesh and blood, instead they will appear as “Abbatars” — their own description of the combination of several technologies to create lifelike avatars, that will take the stage instead of the now + 70 years old members of the Band.

Digital “Abbatars” make Abba look excactly as they did 40 years ago

Industrial Light and Magic have had 850 team members working on the project for 3 years. Abba will be performing two concerts pr. day in a 3.000 person venue, made especially for this concert. If this becomes a success, it has the potential to revolutionize the concert and entertainment industry. Because it makes it possible for every artist to teleport itself through space and time and to be enjoyed many years after their death.

And if you think that is crazy, then check out Hatsune Miku´s “Magical Mirai 2021” show. The concerts are performed by 100% digital animated characters, but they are still sold out year after year in Japan. But these experiences lack the possibility of live interaction between actor and audience because everything has to be pre-recorded.

Real-time Holoportation is happening

Real Holoportation, as we have seen in science fiction movies for centuries, allows for dialogue and interaction. That may now be on the verge of becoming a reality, due to a company called PORTL.

PORTL allows you to be present in Real-time all over the world at the same time.

They have created a large, vending-machine-sized booth that they call “PORTL Epic” to generate real-time, 3D life-size 4K resolution holograms. 100 of these booths are already located around the world from Abu Dhabi to Miami. With this solution, you can beam yourself into one of these booths or all at once at the same time.

They could be situated in a boardroom, on a stage, in the auditorium, or wherever it makes sense. And if you want to buy one, it will set you back app.$100.000. Using a camera and mic you can see, hear and interact with people thousands of miles away. This will allow for CEOs to be present at all company offices at once for town halls. It will allow universities to present the best teachers and professors from around the world. And it allowed P. Diddy to beam himself home for his son´s 23rd birthday.

Other companies like Microsoft are working to make Holoportation a reality.
In May 2021, Google revealed their new technology called Starline.

Google Starline is like Teams with 3D holograms

Similarly, they have made it possible for people to meet face to face so close to reality that people who tried it thought it was real. This form of hyper-telepresence looks very promising, but the Google project is still just a concept several years away from breaking into the market.

The Japanese company NTT har created Kirari — a set of technologies that collects and processes information, transmits it synchronously in real-time to deliver a groundbreaking, ultra-realistic viewing experience never seen before. It´s hard to explain but check out the videos here.

NTT Kirari is a hologram technology hard to explain

This technology promises to deliver the transmission and reproduction of the entirety of sporting arenas to venues in remote locations. A version of the technology was used during the Olympics held in 2021 to deliver a brand new viewing experience for the Olympic Sailing Competition

NTT envisions that many future sports events will have to be watched from a distance and they want to bring the experience as close to reality as possible.

Honey, I Holoportated the kids

With the pandemic still around us and putting severe limitations on our ability to get together and travel, it looks imperative that we will have to come up with new and alternative solutions.

I predict that Holoportation concepts and solutions will become a part of our lives in the foreseeable future and that the ABBA event will pave the way for a new branch of the experience economy.