My company, Dutch Holographic Laboratory B.V. (DHL), first received international recognition with Microscope in 1984. This image of a microscope protrudes more than 9 inches in front of the holographic plate. When viewers look into the microscope's illusory eyepiece, they see the actual magnification of a computer chip, just as if the microscope really existed. This 8x10 in reflection hologram has opened viewers' eyes to a new perception of holographic imaging and spawned a number of offshoots (Fig. 1).

DHL's laboratories, which include high tech laser systems, are dedicated to ongoing research and development in holography. Apart from the lasers and optics, all the equipment is custom fabricated in house and includes four vibration isolation tables, two longrun copy production systems and a fullcolor stereogram printer. DHL is located in an industrial building along the banks of a Dutch canal near the center of Eindhoven.

(a) (b)

Fig. I (a) Microscope, reflection hologram, 8x10 in, 1984. (b) Detail of view in lens. When viewers look into the microscope's illusory eyepiece, they see a magnification of a computer chip.

MULTIPLE PHOTO GENERATED HOLOGRAPHY

In January 1991, we recorded our first multiple photo-generated hologram (MPGH). The hologram shows our crew (five people at that time) posing in the freezing cold in front of the lab building. Passers-by were amazed by the scene in front of DHL, with our computer-driven camera snapping picture after picture as it moved along a 10ft long rail. We had just developed a new theory allowing us to record the right sequence of perspectives to produce an undistorted final hologram. The results were published in the proceedings of the March 1991 SPIE conference in the Hague [8].

While testing our new optical registration system in January, we produced the first full-color computer-generated imageplane reflection hologram, using three different laser lines to produce the light primaries of red, green and blue. In February, Philips electronics company came to us looking for assistance on one of their new campaigns. To accompany the slogan "Now let Philips open your eyes," they wanted a 50x60 cm holographic image of a statue of a woman's head, which would turn into an actual woman's face and come to life as the viewer looked across the plate. With our newly developed technique for MPGH, we realized that this ambitious request was possible. In a nearby photo studio, after some lighting tests, we shot the footage for the hologram Diana, which changes from a sculptured bust into a woman who starts to smile at the viewer near the end of the sequence of 220 images.

FULL COLOR REFLECTION MPGH

In June 199 1, Suzanne St. Cyr called us to find out if it would be possible to record a full-color reflection hologram of baseball star Ricky Henderson (Fig. 7).The original film was recorded by Sharon McCormack for American Bank Note Holographics to make holographic baseball cards. Because the subject rotated while the film footage was being shot, we realized that we needed to adapt our stereogram setup for the particular recording geometry of the Henderson footage. An extension of the theory for recording the right perspectives was developed over the weekend to accommodate McCormack's rotational shooting technique (and presented at the Lake Forest SPIE conference in July 1991) [9]. After some experimentation, we found that the new configuration worked and produced a full-color image-plane MPGH of Henderson, made with three laser lines to give a mix of the light primaries.

MPGH IN ACTION

Using our fully automated MPGH system, we produced four holograms for Philips for the World Expo '92 in Seville, Spain. These holograms demonstrated the latest possibilities of holography. The images included a woman driving in her car, a hand-held telephone, a laptop computer and a fax machine with paper coming through it, slowly revealing the text: "Communications talk with Philips".

The experience gained with this project convinced us it was now possible to record on location. To prove this, 2 months later we shot an MPGH hologram for Citibank Germany at one of their banks in Cologne. The hologram shows a woman putting her bank card into the machine and then operating the banking center machine. This is another example of the possibilities of holograms, showing the capability of producing 3D animation instruction films of real, live scenes.

In April 1993, artist Dieter Jung approached us with an ambitious project for the European Patent Office in Munich. A total of 18 square meters of holograms were produced and applied to a 2x3 m sign with thin, 3-sided, rotating vertical panels. Different holograms were applied to each side. The holograms were all unique in design. To promote and support this project, we produced a full color computer generated embossed hologram.