The phone rings. You answer. A Barbie-doll-size hologram of your daughter appears on your desk. She jumps up and down excitedly and tells you about her report card. Next comes an international teleconference. You go to the boardroom, and there, sitting around the table, are three-dimensional images of your overseas colleagues talking to you. After work you go to a shop to buy a new dress for your daughter. The clerk calls up a life-size hologram of her and projects different items on her, letting you choose the ones that look best. The events above sound like science fiction, but they're not. The technology behind such wonders is on view at research labs in Japan. Stunning progress in liquid crystal displays, graphics processing and broadband are finally bringing 3-D displays into homes and offices―without the need for goofy red-and-blue tinted glasses.
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