“Beam me up Scotty,” is no longer just a fantasy trip (pun intended) reserved for the Star Trek flight crew. In what may be one of the coolest inventions of the century, the Hologram PORTL, a futuristic looking telephone booth, has the ability to transport a life-size holographic version of a person, from anywhere to anywhere, in real time, making ZOOM calls look positively prehistoric. Founded by David Nussbaum, PORTL is a human-sized “holoportation” device about 7’ h x 5’ w x 2’d. Unlike early less authentic iterations, like the Tupac Hologram, that relied on a 19th-century illusion called Pepper’s Ghost, HOLOPORTL’s evenly lit seamless interior allows for depth, minus hot spots of light & visible seams showing through the hologram content & can also be seen in daylight. PORTL has made appearances at 2019’s Comic-Con & even made it possible for the Emmy Awards to be held during COVID, by “holographically” bringing stars to the red carpet who otherwise couldn’t attend. Although PORTL raises legal questions that will need to be ironed-out regarding “exclusive” rights to use certain likenesses, it offers widespread applications for use; from museums employing it for hologram animals, to professors from around the world beaming into classrooms for lectures & “Halo-Grams” of spiritual leaders visiting houses of worship for holiday or special event sermons, the opportunities are endless. Instead of asking, Where’ve you been? we might soon be asking, “Where’ve you beamed?”
