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| 3 | %% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks! |
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| 7 | [[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/DeadSpace1 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holoterm_6169.png]]]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:350:[-And when the power fails, [[AwesomeButImpractical the whole thing goes dark]].[[labelnote:*]]Of course, if the power's out on a space ship, what were you going to do with those controls anyways?[[/labelnote]]-] ]] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | Similar to the ViewerFriendlyInterface, yet very much an UnusualUserInterface, the Holographic Terminal is just that, a combination keyboard and screen made of transparent HardLight that can be used to control computers, machines, or access other {{Phlebotinum}} derived devices and abilities. It's somehow solid enough to stop your hand going through it (but presumably not so much to stop a gunshot or sword, but at least [[ExplosiveInstrumentation it won't explode in your face]]) and can tell what you're pushing much like a regular touch screen. Whatever it displays is usually visible from "behind" as well (so be sure not to read personal mail in public). |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Normally it might appear near an emitter of some kind, maybe even inside actual pieces of [[TransparentTech transparent]] plastic or in the empty space between metallic frames. However they're increasingly turning into the SFX equivalent of Internet pop ups: Appearing without the need for an emitter or any kind of prompting by TheSmartGuy who'll use it. For much the same reason they're more common in [[{{Cyberspace}} VR environments]] and [[TheMetaverse themed worlds.]] Commonly seen as part of AugmentedReality interfaces. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | If the situation calls for tension and drama, expect them to appear in a semi circle around a character displaying various important looking bars and graphs, the techie in question will usually spout some TechnoBabble while randomly typing and "flipping switches" on different terminals. Basically the futuristic, floating, glowy equivalent of an officious clipboard and pen. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | If they look especially complex, it evokes a sci-fi version of InstantRunes, and is usually included as a CG effect added in later. For extra oomph, it can be paired with MatrixRainingCode either in the terminal or around the character. To make it seem even more aesthetically pleasing, may take the form of a DesignStudentsOrgasm. It is apparently never an issue where things like bright lights and complex objects behind the hologram make them hard to read, or that somebody sees what you're viewing from behind the hologram. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Compare TheBigBoard. Contrast with {{Zeerust}}, {{Steampunk}}, OurGraphicsWillSuckInTheFuture, and UsedFuture. See also: HardLight, {{Hologram}}, and TransparentTech. See also HologramProjectionImperfection. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | It doesn't yet float, but the transparent screen part could be TruthInTelevision in the near future. [[http://gizmodo.com/5465084/samsung-to-release-laptop-with-a-transparent-screen-within-12-months See here.]] Also, Augmented Reality goggles like [[http://www.google.com/glass/start/ Google Glass]] appear to the user this way. |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | !!Examples |
| 23 | |
| 24 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 25 | |
| 26 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 27 | * A series of Yellowbook commercials in the late '00s (such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMXMMu15Aho this one]]) featured these. |
| 28 | [[/folder]] |
| 29 | |
| 30 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 31 | * Variation in ''Anime/DenNohCoil''. Here, the main characters almost constantly wear advanced AugmentedReality goggles that superimpose computer-generated imagery over the real world. Such glasses are also able to sense the user's movements, so free-floating virtual terminals are one of the most common ways to interact with the simulation system. Such displays, like everything else in the "den-noh-world", are invisible and intangible to anyone that doesn't wear den-noh-glasses. They should logically be intangible to the wearer too, since glasses don't cover your hands, yet everyone is perfectly comfortable typing on a HardLight keyboard suspended in midair. |
| 32 | * ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'', being set in 2039, has these. Usually they are flat, floating screens set up as command centers, but they also come in the more circular set-up as well. They've also been integrated into cellphones with a screen that can be switched on and off. |
| 33 | * ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'' has these everywhere, but it becomes a lot more common by [[Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers season 3]] once the plot moves to Mid-childa. It seems most mages can have them pop up wherever they need them. |
| 34 | ** It should be noted that this includes invisible floating keyboards. |
| 35 | * Practically ''abused'' to its logical extreme in ''Anime/{{Macross}}'' series from ''Anime/MacrossFrontier'' onward: cellphones, toys, advertisements, and even scanning devices all have projected holographic displays that move around outside the physical boundary of the device emitting them. Military equipment tends to be on the more "serious" and physical side, while commercial electronics indulge in [[ViewerFriendlyInterface all sorts of holographic fancy]]. A particularly notable example is a cellphone-to-cellphone file transfer system that consists of actually ''tossing'' a small holographic file from one phone to another, which the show's creators came up with years ''before'' [[TechnologyMarchesOn people in real life started designing smartphones that could share files just by being lightly tapped against each other]]. |
| 36 | * ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'' used these everywhere. ''Everywhere.'' It also had a lot of fun with the trope by, for example, distorting the video screens in 3-D for comedic effect when the on-screen character was yelling -- and that's just scratching the surface of the many-and-varied hologram gags the series worked in. In the movie, there's a scene where a problem with a space station computer causes flocks of holographic video screens to chase the occupants of the station around. They don't seem to realize that the projections are insubstantial and harmless... |
| 37 | ** ''Anime/KiddyGrade'' utilises "{{nanom|achines}}ist monitors" in a similar fashion, which shouldn't be surprising given Keiji Gotoh was character designer and animator on the one before moving on the become director of the other. |
| 38 | * The computers of the Ptolemaios (both I and II) in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' take this to a whole new level, as the holographic terminals can appear ''[[FridgeLogic anywhere on the ship.]]'' As a less extreme example, the terminals utilised by the rest of the world are pretty much like this too, except they only can be generated at specific locations near hardware of some sort. |
| 39 | * ''[[Literature/BodaciousSpacePirates Moretsu Pirates]]'' has these, and they seem to interact with regular terminals in interesting ways. For example, in the first episode Marika takes a handheld, flips through a series of fasion images, flicks one which turns it into a hologram, then sends the hologram flying over to a larger monitor where a video of the person wearing the outfit plays. The characters also receive email as a holographic envelope which they have to physically open. |
| 40 | * The facilities in ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' had this, to a limited extent. And boy did they like to announce countdowns of doom. |
| 41 | * ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'': Lain's {{Cyberpunk}} computer has this, after she has upgraded it considerably. |
| 42 | * Washu in ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' loved using these in everyday life, such as making custom baby-food. |
| 43 | * ''Anime/WolfsRain'' had controls like this, used at least in the first episode to release an artificial being from her lab tank. |
| 44 | * The new Duel Disk system that Seto Kaiba develops in ''Anime/YugiOhTheDarkSideOfDimensions'' appears to function this way, using holographic cards and images projected from the user’s brain. |
| 45 | * A lampshade hanging in ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: Dolores, i'': James asks Dolores (the robot's AI) for "full control" of the [[HumongousMecha orbital frame]], saying he doesn't need her help to pilot it. Dolores complies and ''floods'' the cockpit with Holographic Terminals of every onboard system. Overwhelmed, he agrees to let her help with micromanaging the systems while he does the piloting and they share strategic thinking. |
| 46 | [[/folder]] |
| 47 | |
| 48 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 49 | * ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}'': |
| 50 | ** In later issues of the pre-Flashpoint ''ComicBook/BirdsOfPrey'', ComicBook/{{Oracle}} had a holographic terminal. |
| 51 | ** ComicBook/{{Oracle}} gets another holographic terminal in the Elseworlds tale ''[[ComicBook/SensationComicsFeaturingWonderWoman Gothamazon]]''. |
| 52 | * ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'': Salaak, the Green Lantern MissionControl, does his job using a semicircle of terminals he creates with his ring. This is convenient, as his workstation is wherever he happens to be. |
| 53 | * ''ComicBook/{{Starstruck}}'': These are all over the place, as the series got in on the act early, seeing as it came out in comics form in the early '80's. |
| 54 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': In the first issue of ''Superman Unchained'', Lois Lane controls the Daily Planet layout with a holographic terminal. |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'': The series had this -- sort of. One of the wide, ''wide'' variety of genetic enhancements people had was the "phone trait", which was essentially an implanted cell phone. To dial a number, you just imagined punching numbers on a keypad under your right hand. The keypad is visible to ''you'', but not to anyone else, since it's just inside your head, technically. |
| 56 | ** Numerous other bits of technology seem to play this more straight, with holographic computer bits being a common background element in The City. |
| 57 | [[/folder]] |
| 58 | |
| 59 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 60 | * In Chapter 2 of ''Fanfic/MiraiSMP'', God summons a giant holographic screen to introduce the players. |
| 61 | * ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace''. When Kincaid is piloting a HumongousMecha, his holographic gunsight keeps getting [[AdvertOverloadedFuture obscured by pop-up adds]]. |
| 62 | [[/folder]] |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 65 | * Many controls in ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' were comprised [[PureEnergy purely of energy]]. |
| 66 | * Most of Ecoban's terminals in ''Animation/SkyBlue'' are like this. The Diggers use more mundane interfaces. |
| 67 | [[/folder]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 70 | * The ''Series/BabylonFive'' sequel movie ''Legend of the Rangers'' depicted a unique interface for the CoolStarship's weapons systems: the gunnery officer floated in zero-gravity inside a holographic representation of nearby space -- and ''punched, kicked and swatted'' at images of the enemy to shoot them. When the ship was in a firing frenzy, she rather looked like she was having a seizure. |
| 71 | * The grandfather of this trope occurs in the original ''Film/TheDayTheEarthStoodStill1951'' movie. Since it's a movie from the 1950's, it doesn't have hologram special effects, but Klaatu ''does'' manipulate his computer by waving at it from a distance. (Also a conceptual predecessor to Microsoft's Kinect.) |
| 72 | * The BBC play ''Series/TheFlipsideOfDominickHide'' features a holographic TV set, seen at one point projecting the image of a string quartet. When the title character goes back in time to 'our' present (1980) there's a scene where he mistakes a ''real'' string quartet for a holographic image and tries to walk straight through them. |
| 73 | * ''Film/IronMan'': |
| 74 | ** In the 2008 film ''Film/IronMan1'', Tony Stark uses a [[RuleOfCool super-cool]] holographic CAD interface to design the second, more advanced version of his PoweredArmor. It's such a cool interface that Stark can reach into the holographic interface (where, e.g., he is designing the power gauntlets for the suit) and actually interact with his design (e.g., manipulate the fingers of the holographic gauntlet he's designing). Supposedly, Creator/RobertDowneyJr. improvised the "reach-in-and-fiddle-with-it" interface, which [[Creator/JonFavreau the director]] liked so well that he had the FX team design the visuals around it. |
| 75 | ** In the sequel, he's using even more advanced systems to the point where basically everything is holographic and manipulable. At one point he picks up a program window, scrunches it up, and [[WastebasketBall throws it into the Recycle Bin]]. |
| 76 | * The ''Film/JamesBond'' movies with Creator/DanielCraig have the holographic wall interfaces, or at least a very translucent touchscreen. |
| 77 | * ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'': The gate-keeper operators for Zion (the ones who clear the ship for entry in the beginning), although technically they're in their own mini-Matrix (so to speak), so it's not 'real' hologram technology. Note that these people organize who lands where in Zion as opposed to just being door-openers, something that might be easier to organize inside a construct -- besides, they're sure as hell not going to let a program do it. |
| 78 | * The displays in ''Film/MinorityReport'', although they're technically not floating so much as projected ''inside'' glass panels. This is actually not a difficult thing to do. The whole ''Minority Report'' computer setup could probably be created at home for a few hundred bucks -- whether it would be ''comfortable'' to use is another matter. Microsoft would like you to know that it has one, Kinect. It looks a bit like the ''Babylon 5'' ship below. |
| 79 | * In ''Film/{{Paycheck}}'', the protagonist is a reverse engineer. He buys a new hologram-projecting TV, plugs it into his lab computer. The TV's specs then appear on the transparent wall behind him, revealing that it is a transparent screen like in ''Film/MinorityReport''. He then manipulates the specs with hand gestures. Pretty much a 2-D version of Stark's gear. RuleOfCool certainly applies, as well as ViewerFriendlyInterface, but it doesn't look implausible for the most part -- except the standing-there-waving-your-arms-around-for-hours-on-end part. And when he finishes that project he decides to ditch the screen for the holo-TV, so it's just a floating projection. |
| 80 | * The holograph star-map in ''Film/WingCommander'' -- which, come to think of it, would be very practical for a 3D display. |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 84 | * The ''3rd World Products'' series uses "fields" for pretty much everything. |
| 85 | * In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' novels, from ''Literature/TheRingworldThrone'' onward, all computer terminals are one of these. |
| 86 | * The ''Literature/{{RCN}}'' series uses holographic displays and keyboards. The argument is that "the volume within a warship was too short to dedicate any of it to uses that could be accomplished by holograms." Daniel realizes he's a bit disturbed on an instinctive level when he meets an RCN civilian official who types on a physical keyboard. |
| 87 | * The Conjoiners in Creator/AlastairReynolds' ''[[Literature/RevelationSpaceSeries Revelation Space]]'' series can see holographic displays, except that they're created in their mind by their cybernetic implants. One character discovers this after being assimilated and finding out why some people were waving their hands in the air and staring at things that were not there. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Live Action TV]] |
| 91 | * ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': |
| 92 | ** [=FitzSimmons=]'s holotable on the Bus in early seasons. There is one funny scene where [[HopelessWithTech Coulson and Ward]] are looking at something on it, and have no idea how to do all the cool "moving holograms around" stuff Jemma and Leo do, or even how to close a window once they've finished with it. |
| 93 | ** When Lady Sif comes to Earth, Coulson expects her to have trouble with it, but she quickly proves more adept at the interface than Coulson himself. As she's one of the most adventurous Asgardians, she's spent a lot of time in tech civilizations. She even calls it more primitive than what she's used to. |
| 94 | ** Coulson inherits Nick Fury's "toolbox," which is a holographic computer. When it's active, Coulson is surrounded by holographic projections of files and data, which he manipulates through gestures. Apparently Coulson received some training in holography as he was completely inept with the holographic display on the Bus earlier in the series. |
| 95 | * A "pane glass" version was frequently used in the TooGoodToLast ''Series/AlmostHuman''. Creator/KarlUrban's character used one to try to reconstruct his memory by throwing virtual post-it notes at the screen. In one episode, he waves them all away, presumably deleting them. |
| 96 | * BBC SpaceOpera ''Series/BlakesSeven'', which first aired in 1978, had a very early example in the viewscreen of the ''[[CoolStarship Liberator]]''. Budget prohibited anything more elaborate, presumably. |
| 97 | * Early seasons of ''Series/{{Bones}}'' had Angela's reconstructions performed on a holographic display before that was replaced with giant glass monitors. |
| 98 | * The short-lived series ''Series/TheCape'' featured such a device employed by vigilante/blogger Oracle (Creator/SummerGlau). |
| 99 | * ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' has holographic terminals in spades. Their absence in chronologically later ''Battlestar Galactica'' series is likely due to the [[ScienceIsBad technology backlash]] that resulted from the [[RobotWar First Cylon War]]. |
| 100 | * In ''Series/{{Continuum}}''; holographic displays are pervasive in the future of 2077, with interfaces ranging from things like real laser-projected keyboards to handwaving to controlling the computer with your mind. |
| 101 | * Used in ''Series/CSIMiami''. It's also a OmniscientDatabase, and they don't even have the TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture {{handwave}} to fall back on, as on-screen dates show episodes usually occurring on the week of their transmission. To be fair, the tech they use is loosely based on experimental products, and could arguably be considered [[RuleOfPerception visual shorthand]]. |
| 102 | ** Take a closer look at the background; it's a black room with yellow stripes making a grid on the wall. ShoutOut anyone? |
| 103 | %%** And in ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' as well. Ugh. |
| 104 | ** The laser keyboard in the RealLife section below popped up in one episode, being used by a secretary who wanted to stealth-blog about her employers. She had it connected to a PDA, and just turned it off when it wasn't in use or when someone came by. |
| 105 | * The ''Series/DoctorWho'' serial ''The Caves of Androzani'' featured one of these. The hologram in question wasn't CGI, however, but pre-filmed footage. Director Graeme Harper used this limitation to an interesting advantage by having one of the characters get up and walk ''around'' the hologram, the effect being added in later. |
| 106 | * One of the most breathtakingly cool displays of the Holographic Terminal is the piloting interface for the Companion's ships and Shuttles in ''Series/EarthFinalConflict''. A series of gestures replaces the complex switch flipping of modern fighter craft cockpits, and gives the pilot complete control over every aspect of the ship. |
| 107 | ** It's specifically mentioned in the pilot that, while the technology is distinctly Taelon, the actual interface and the gestures were designed by a human pilot. Despite this, when Taelons have to operate their shuttles themselves, they have no trouble doing it. |
| 108 | * ''{{Series/Eureka}}'' uses this technology, actually reaching out and grabbing the windows and moving them. Actually reaching out and grabbing on and crumbling it up before tossing it into the real trashcan. |
| 109 | * Inverted by Natasha on ''Series/OtherSpace'': she is displayed solely within computer monitors but pokes invisible buttons when performing tasks. |
| 110 | * In ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', a lot of Ancients technology (including the Puddle Jumpers) use this. They still have hand controls but a lot of the mapping and directional functions are part of a holo-screen that pops up for the user. |
| 111 | ** It should be noted that the Puddle Jumpers also respond to telepathic commands -- as long as you have the Ancient gene. |
| 112 | ** ''Series/StargateUniverse'' shows that even the uber-old Destiny has holographics without any kind of visible emitters. |
| 113 | * Notably avoided on post-[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Original Series]] ''Franchise/StarTrek''. On a few occasions, the production staff have tried using holographic free-floating main viewers, but they don't last. The reason: the main viewer is one of the franchise's most common visual elements, and it just felt wrong to replace it with a blank wall. The view screens in the post-TNG era do project in 3-D, however. Whenever a two-way communication is up on the viewer, and the shot angle changes, [[HollywoodWebCam the view of the other party changes, too]]. The control panels used in the post-TNG era are actually advanced touch-screens. |
| 114 | ** The Arch used to adjust the holodeck in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (later series had them just removing a camouflaged panel and fiddling with the controls physically, though the arch was just revealing the hidden area just inside the holodeck door). |
| 115 | ** Holographic viewers did appear in a few early Next Generation episodes (such as "The Last Outpost") but rarely show up both because of the cost of the effects and the reasons mentioned above. |
| 116 | ** On the other hand, ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' has lots of these. |
| 117 | ** On ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', Rios controls his ship with a holographic helm. When Picard has to take the helm, he has difficulty piloting the ship as [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome it's nothing like the technology he was familiar with]]. |
| 118 | * The Visitors in ''Series/{{V 2009}}'' use interfaces that can be made to appear and disappear with a wave of a hand. |
| 119 | [[/folder]] |
| 120 | |
| 121 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 122 | * These are present in ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'', but only used for large projections, like showing a battlefield in realtime inside a command base or showing a 3D map of the local solar system inside the bridge of a dropship. Battlemechs make use of computer screens, a little bit of AugmentedReality in the desplay screen of the neurohelmets pilots wear, and the controls are all physical buttons and joysticks. |
| 123 | * In ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' most computer interfaces take this form, by virtue of almost everyone having AugmentedReality access via brain implants. (Holographic projectors also exist, but they cannot be [[HardLight solid]].) Many devices have fallback hardware controls. The ubiquity of AR can backfire: 'mist' is the term for inundating quantities of AR popups and advertisements. Whatever device you use to access AR channels is also vulnerable to hacking, allowing an attacker to cut you off from information... or inject AR illusions of their own. |
| 124 | * Used near-ubiquitously by the Imperium in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' for managing both naval and on-surface operations. They seem to require some sort of "wands" to manipulate objects within them, although there seem to be either touchscreens or keyboards to back them up. Given how [[LostTechnology run-down]] all things Imperial are, they're not exactly of the best quality and require PercussiveMaintenance from time to time. The Tau's, by contrast, don't require anything of the sort, and cause considerable discomfort for AdMech officials (who view technology as a religion) who don't see how it can work without exposed wiring and angular surfaces everywhere. |
| 125 | * As in ''Eclipse Phase'', ''TabletopGame/TranshumanSpace'' creates this effect via ubiquitous AR via Virtual Interface Implants. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 129 | * While it was controlled by a pretty much normal keyboard and mouse, the opening sequence of the legendary action platformer game ''VideoGame/AnotherWorld'' (''Out of This World'' in some countries) featured a computer whose monitor consisted of a volumetric display, and had cubic windows floating in its confines. |
| 130 | * ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' features this in spades, as vending machines, entry gates, and even the pause menus and inventory screens are represented as floating holograms. If you look closely, you can see the inventory/pause screens moving around a bit, and this is explained by the [[HyperspaceArsenal storage deck]] the Claptrap gives you at the very start, which then "boots up," showing you your health, ammo, and other HUD paraphernalia. |
| 131 | * Characters in ''VideoGame/CosmicStarHeroine'' make use of their shields' {{p|owersAsPrograms}}rograms by tapping on holographic pop-ups. |
| 132 | * Every single item in ''Franchise/DeadSpace''; [=RIGs=], suits even the weapons and power tools have a holographic display which says how much ammo they have left. The projections are not exactly solid, though, since you can move through them at any time. There's also a marked ''lack'' of actual, physical screens, buttons and switches in the setting; anytime the power goes out, it's likely the whole interface just ''disappears'' (as seen on the ''Ishimura'' bridge in ''WesternAnimation/DeadSpaceDownfall''). |
| 133 | ** Attention should be drawn to the rather notable [[DiegeticInterface diegetic menus]]. Barring the game's pause menu, everything else is projected as a real holographic control for [[PlayerCharacter Isaac]] to interact with in the game world. As such, you don't get to pause to check your inventory mid-combat, or the like. |
| 134 | ** Apparently this [[ViewerFriendlyInterface holographic exuberance]] is a hallmark of the [=EarthGov=] era. ''VideoGame/{{Dead Space 3}}'' fluff indicates that prior to the [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression Secession War]], Sovereign Colonies technologies used more practical, down-to-Earth transparent touchscreens... which one flipped through like the pages of a book. |
| 135 | * In ''VideoGame/DragonBallXenoverse2'', whenever the player goes into the pause menu, it's represented in-game by their Time Patroller activating one of these. |
| 136 | * ''VideoGame/EliteDangerous'' prominently features holographic terminals strewn around the ship's cockpit, the most important of which only appear when looking off to the left, right or bottom, and which are also context-sensitive enough to alter one's controls to manipulate the menus instead of firing weapons with the same buttons when active. While the pilot isn't visibly shown touching them to interact with their contents, the aforementioned point means they don't need to, fitting in with the [[BillionsOfButtons HOTAS philosophy]] of flight controls where one's hands never leave the stick and throttle. |
| 137 | * ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}} 2'' has this appear in the Administrator's Tower, operated by a Black Knight and a Silver Knight. |
| 138 | * In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' game series, [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]] and [[{{Precursors}} Forerunner]] control panels are made of light -- blue and purple for the Covenant, and aquamarine and orange for the Forerunners. They usually have visible emitters. To a lesser degree, humans have also started to use these. |
| 139 | * In the intentionally technobabble-gimmicked ''{{Franchise/Tron}}'' level of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' they're used by Tron, particularly in his special attack. |
| 140 | * In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'', an omni-tool is a glowing orange gauntlet or glove which seems to be made of HardLight. It only appears around a character's hand when it's needed, and it seems to be solid enough to act as a keypad. |
| 141 | ** There's also full-fledged holographic terminals and keyboards on the ''[[CoolStarship Normandy]]'', and all {{Pr|ecursors}}othean and geth computer interfaces use holographic keyboards. |
| 142 | ** Explained in the sequel. Apparently users wear haptic feedback gloves when interacting with holographic displays which both detect the coordinates of the users digits in relation to the holograms and provide resistance for buttons and such. Of course, these are difficult to clean and maintain, so heavy users get the feedback sensors implanted under their skin. |
| 143 | *** There are some holographic interfaces that don't work with haptic interfaces, however -- see, for example, door "locks". At one point in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', Shepard hits one with their elbow to open a door, indicating that some are just plain holograms. Evidently they work by detecting a disruption in the light. |
| 144 | ** Upgraded with the forcefield-based [[LaserBlade Omni-Blade]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', which you can stab people with all cool style. |
| 145 | ** A developer interview reveals that they've based all of this on the film ''Anime/FinalFantasyTheSpiritsWithin'' that they constantly look back at for reference. |
| 146 | ** Pretty much the only computers ''without'' holographic interfaces are datapads, which actually have a physical keyboard. (Until the third game, when they don't.) |
| 147 | * A few of these show up in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime''; for the most part, Samus activates them with her suit's scanner instead of trying to touch them. |
| 148 | ** The map stations in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', on the other hand, are a straight example, touch control and everything. |
| 149 | * ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' features this with the various holographic imagers in the series, sometimes mixed with HugeHolographicHead. Most of them are just read-only projectors with the image suspended inches from the source; but ''VideoGame/UruAgesBeyondMyst'' plays it straighter, especially with your KI, a disc the size of your hand that can project a full interactive screen in midair. |
| 150 | * [[PlayfulHacker Sombra]] of ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' seems to have hologram projectors built in with the rest of her {{cyborg}} enhancements, as her {{h|ollywoodHacking}}acking involves tossing around and manipulating flat holographic screens. |
| 151 | * The Turraken laboratory scanner in ''VideoGame/{{Startopia}}'' has a holographic display with MatrixRainingCode when something is being analyzed. |
| 152 | * In ''VideoGame/{{Syndicate}}'' and ''Syndicate Wars'', you are depicted controlling your agents from holographic displays aboard an airship. |
| 153 | * ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has these from time to time when Rita needs to hack into or otherwise control a blastia. |
| 154 | * Practically all of the interfaces in ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' are holographic, including those on [=PDAs=] -- they pop out of the PDA on demand and magically accept physical interaction. |
| 155 | [[/folder]] |
| 156 | |
| 157 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 158 | * ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'' has Athena's Widget, a necklace computer that projects a holographic terminal that the player will use in the ''Mood Matrix'' sections of the game. Athena wears a special glove that allows her to physically interact with the hologram. |
| 159 | * ''VisualNovel/SablesGrimoire'' has a magical version of this trope with the Terminal spell, which projects a holographic computer terminal from the user's palm. It can be used to check email, make videocalls, consult course materials, and more. [[WizardingSchool Amadronia Academy]] also has physical Terminal projectors available for students who haven't learned how to cast the Terminal spell yet. |
| 160 | [[/folder]] |
| 161 | |
| 162 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 163 | * ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The computers in Remnant have holographic interfaces. The desks in the offices of both Professors Ozpin and Lionheart can generate screens and keyboards for both computer use and monitoring the city; people can interface their scrolls with computers (including the aforementioned headmasters' desks) to create holographic interfaces for, especially for strategy planning; video games are played through holographic interfaces and the Atlesian Paladins are controlled via holographic projections of both screen and keyboard. |
| 164 | [[/folder]] |
| 165 | |
| 166 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 167 | * ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'': Kat can access her {{Magitek}} computer remotely via a pop-up holographic display that's {{intangib|ility}}le to everyone except her. Thanks to its supernatural qualities, she doesn't need any hardware on her end whatsoever. |
| 168 | * From ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Jade's computer. It has a massive holographic screen, and a separate HardLight keyboard, while the computer itself is the size of a lunchbox. |
| 169 | * In ''Webcomic/TheKennyChronicles'' [[FunnyAnimal Tarneki]] teenagers wear collars with holographic displays (the adults tend to use older handheld computers). Their use of these instead of [[BrainComputerInterface neural links]] is one reason why [[http://www.kennychronicles.com/2009/04/23/their-collars/ humans consider Tarnation equivalent to a third-world country.]] |
| 170 | * In ''Webcomic/{{Skyvein}}'', the most notable features of Cope's office are the many holoscreens. |
| 171 | * ''Webcomic/MetompsychosisUnion'': While there is a single physical keyboard all the screens and most of the interactive buttons at the dockyard control are holographic. |
| 172 | [[/folder]] |
| 173 | |
| 174 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 175 | * ''Website/CollegeHumor'' deconstructs the trope, explicitly calling out the ''Minority Report'', [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=RJ4KxaWraJc as woefully impractical.]] |
| 176 | * Used for just about everything in ''Literature/LandGames''. |
| 177 | * ''Website/OrionsArm'' has "Ghost interfaces" but by the 107th century {{A|lternateCalendar}}T they're very retro. Having long been replaced by Direct Neural Interfaces and "Wraith" screens that use [[NanoMachines Utility Fog]] to effectively act as HardLight. |
| 178 | [[/folder]] |
| 179 | |
| 180 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 181 | * In ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' Master Shake agrees to something or internet and the entire house gets flooded with holographic displays of internet advertising from the WWWYZZERDD. To the point where they can no longer function due to the enormous amounts of ads floating constantly over their heads. |
| 182 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Chaotic}}'', before a match (and after every battle) begins, players assemble their battle teams via a holographic console. Logical considering Chaotic is a VR simulation. Interestingly, it averts the two way translucency by not letting opponents see each other's card selections. From one side, you get creatures, mugics, and locations, but from the other it looks like a floating plexiglass pane. |
| 183 | * ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' has them in Lyoko; however, besides the huge holographic map in the lab, the physical world only has physical consoles. |
| 184 | * Kiva installed a few in the back seat of the ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'' to help Coop by monitoring its systems, perhaps as a pun on "backseat driving"? In the pilot episode, Kiva used the same technology to pilot her own robot. She gets bonus points for actually taking advantage of their nature and moving them around as needed, rather than treating the controls as a solid construct. |
| 185 | * ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'' showcases something that fits the basic letter of this trope (keyboards and screens made of HardLight) while looking ''nothing'' like the usual floating screens -- the USS Protostar's bridge can have holoconsole layouts loaded, which overlays holographic recreations of whatever the layout is based on and can be set to have the inputs translated to the Protostar's helm. When this is shown off, the holoconsoles in question look, act and sound like the consoles of a mid-23rd century Constitution class starship (in other words, the Enterprise's ''TOS'' consoles). |
| 186 | [[/folder]] |
| 187 | |
| 188 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 189 | * Real-world semi-example: A [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projection_keyboard laser keyboard]] has been developed that will work on any surface. Emphasis on ''surface''. |
| 190 | ** While this is undeniably cool technology, [[AwesomeButImpractical you wouldn't want to type on it for long periods of time, since it provides no tactile feedback or "recoil" for your fingers the way a real keyboard does.]] You're just tapping on a table, and you have to keep your eyes on it to keep your fingers in the right position. Can't beat it for portability, though. |
| 191 | *** The iPhone is showing this isn't quite as bad as one thought, if done really well. |
| 192 | *** People also don't attempt two-handed full-speed touch-typing on iPhones, either -- although it's just about possible on an iPad (indeed, the first draft of the current -- and rather controversial -- 38-page [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Hungary Constitution of Hungary]] was drafted on an iPad). As well, the visual display also happens to be in the exact same location as the input method...you can't help but SEE where to guide your fingers. |
| 193 | * There are demonstration technologies to produce the actual floating in the air holographic displays. The difficulty is in the display: the actual interactivity (sensing the hands position and moving the graphics accordingly) is a solved problem, as such systems already exist in the form of infrared sensors. |
| 194 | ** And even the displays seem to be a matter of time: [[http://www.aist.go.jp/aist_e/latest_research/2006/20060210/20060210.html prototypes]] and [[http://www.io2technology.com/index.htm actual products]] that can create mid-air displays already exist. They're just not cheap or mobile enough... yet. |
| 195 | *** Note that of the two examples provided, only the first one seems to fulfill the "ideal" of a traditional sci-fi hologram, that is, a full-3D image projected in a volume. The second one, the ''Heliodisplay'', is a scam, requiring a cloud of water vapour or some other denser-than-air medium on which to project a 2D image. Like a cinema without a screen, at ten times the price for one tenth of the clarity. |
| 196 | *** And only the second one is something you'd want to put your hands anywhere near. The first is not a hologram. That's a focused laser causing the air to turn into plasma. |
| 197 | ** Of course anyone who's actually tried controlling a computer by waving their hands in the air has very quickly discovered that it gets old quickly, and gets painfully tiring shortly after that. While the displays may only be a matter of time, the interface is likely AwesomeButImpractical. |
| 198 | * In real life, electronics companies work very hard to reduce reflections off of [=TVs=] and monitors, so the viewer will only see the important information. Obviously, a transparent "screen" goes in utterly the opposite direction. |
| 199 | ** Quite the opposite in fact. If light passes through the display there would not be any reflection, therefore, the display would be readable in any lighting condition. |
| 200 | *** Actually, since it's transparent, all light traveling from the back would be seen through the front, making any fine detail dissolved into fuzz. It would only be reasonably view-able in either VERY low light conditions, or when displayed over a plain, black or white, surface. It would be difficult to use in most lighting conditions. Non reflective screens are only useful because the back of said screen blocks off light. |
| 201 | *** Compare to the clear screens they used to use on Navy warships and command centers, which were written on in grease pencil by some low-ranking guy. Mind you, the reason they were used was because the low-ranking guy could update information on the backside of the screen, thus not getting in the way of his boss trying to ''look'' at the information on the screen. The low-ranking guy had to be able to write backwards for this system to work, hence the switch to computer screens that can be updated without having to write on them directly. |
| 202 | * It's no holography, of course, but LCD displays are technically transparent, there has been work on transparent OLED displays, and there's always the option to simply aim a projector at a screen made out of certain transparent materials. The coolest example is probably the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaiRLpuwDZ0 Emulator,]] a huge touchscreen with a projector mounted on the floor, that comes with a ''Film/MinorityReport'' style DJ control software. |
| 203 | * The Zvr VirtualReality [[http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/563180/hp-zvr-virtual-reality-display-shows-holographic-projections display:]] It requires special glasses to see the images and a stylus in order to manipulate them, though. |
| 204 | * [[http://www.designboom.com/technology/transparent-smartphone-by-polytron Taiwan-based Polytron Technologies]] has not only built transparent smartphones, but [[DataCrystal transparent USB memory sticks]]. |
| 205 | [[/folder]] |
| 206 |
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