iHologram: the coolest app that never was
On last week’s episode of Diggnation (166), Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht discussed the inarguably awesome iPhone / iPod Touch app “iHologram”.
The app purportedly uses the devices’ accelerometers and “works by assuming a constant viewing angle (35-45 degrees), typical for when the device is placed on a tabletop…The 3d scene’s perspective is then warped using anamorphic perspective, making the object appear to jump off the screen.”
It all sounds cool…and LOOKS VERY VERY COOL. But if you go to the iTunes App store looking for it, you’re going to be sorely disappointed.
The reason is not because it’s not ready yet, or even because Apple has decided it’s not iTunes-worthy. The reason is because the video is a fake.
It was created by filmmaker and animator David O’Reilly, undoubtedly in an attempt to get a little attention, which seems to have worked. Really, really well. In the 2 weeks the video has been on youtube, it has already gathered 39,106 hits.
According to Gizmodo’s Bestmodo blog, the video wasn’t intended as a hoax, but rather “just [to] demonstrate how the 3D effect could be made to work.”
Says O’Reilly himself:
The iHologram app was not real. It was an illustration of an idea I had which I believe could work with the technology (combining anamorphosis and motion sensing). Unfortunately I’m just an ideas person, and I can show how things should look, but I’m no hardcore programmer.
I’d be happy to collaborate with a developer or studio who want’s to make it happen, I’m bursting with ideas for the interactive world, but right now all my attention is on filmmaking.
My aim with this was to tackle the problem of 3d viewing in an original way using current technology, not fool anyone… so for those who doubted but still supported it, respect. I hope it inspires some talented programmers out there.
That’s a damn shame, but to be expected. After all, the demonstration in the video shows the animation being affected by the iPod Touch being rotated on a flat plane, which is not how the Apple accelerometer works; it reacts to pitch and yaw only.
Oops.
Still, the idea that the iPhone, or any device with an accelerometer and decent screen, could be used to create this kid of foreshortened perspective faux-3D illusion is an intriguing one, and I wish Mr. O’Reilly luck in his search for an interested party to make this thing a reality.
I still think this Holotext Messaging app is much much cooler, but I guess the whole thing never took off. Too bad. I would have loved to be able to e-mail my friends and say “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.”
