Holoxica targets £1m funding for hologram venture

HOLOXICA, a spin-out company from Edinburgh University that is due to feature on tonight’s episode of The Gadget Show on Channel 5, has unveiled plans to raise £1 million to bring its next generation of holograms to ­market.

The firm is targeting computer game producers with its interactive three-dimensional displays, which have been likened to the technology seen in science fiction films such as Minority Report and Star Wars.

Javid Khan, founder and managing director of Holoxica, said: “Ever since Chewbacca played R2-D2 at holographic chess in the original Star Wars, gamers have longed for holographic 3D games to become a reality. Holoxica’s new display technology could well be the answer to their prayers.

“Our second-generation display prototype produces 3D images floating in mid-air that can be altered in real time and viewed without glasses. We added some interactivity via a Kinect motion interface, which allows people to ‘touch’ icons in space and to do things like draw in mid-air.”

The inventor believe his technology also has “countless” potential applications for heads-up displays in the aerospace, car and medical sectors.

Holoxica – which is backed by private investors and Scottish Enterprise – currently produces complex 3D images used for scientific applications such as visualisation in biomedical research.