The device made by PORTL Inc lets users talk in real time with a life-sized hologram of another person.
Each PORTL device is 2.1m tall, 1.5m wide and 60cm deep, and can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. Anyone with a camera and a white background can send a hologram to the machine in what Chief Executive David Nussbaum calls"holoportation". "We are able to connect military families that haven't seen each other in months, people from opposite coasts," or anyone who is social distancing to fight the coronavirus, Nussbaum added.
The devices can be equipped with artificial intelligence technology from Los Angeles-based company StoryFile to produce hologram recordings that can be archived. Adding that to the current device brings the cost to at least $85 000.