Use of PDLC Film for Improving Visualization of Contents in Holographic Display under Different Illumination Scenarios

Pepper's ghost effect has been used since its beginnings at the second half of XIX century to generate 3D projections of virtual people in real environments. Nowadays this effect is used by 'holographic' displays for the projection not only of virtual people but also of objects and even animations that can interact with real objects. Marketing and product presentations are some of the most used applications for these displays. Nevertheless, another interesting application is been explored recently: knowledge transfer for both industrial and educational purposes. Regardless the application there is a little problem with these displays: when they are used in a high-illuminated place the contents projected are lost. That is the motivation for this project, which seeks to evaluate the use of a PDLC film (that allows to control its transmittance) to minimize these problem. Action research methodology is being used as a guideline for planning and executing the actions required in the project. The results were satisfactory; achieving an improvement in the visualizations of the contents displayed using the PDLC film. © 2015 The Authors.