Asia's first hologram talks take place in Beijing

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How do you solve the problem of wanting a particular guest speaker at your event but they're on the other side of the world? Well, projecting them on stage using holographic technology might be the answer.

This groundbreaking tech made its debut in Beijing recently at HOLOGRAM, Asia's first interactive creative talks using holographic technology to project speakers on stage.

"Doing interactive creative talks using this kind of holographic technology is a first in Asia," said Rick Garson, founder of VX Entertainment, the company that teamed up with Singapore-based Creative Friends to put on the Beijing talks.

VX Entertainment created the holographic technology and it has already been used in a series of major events.

The company has been chosen creative directors for the winter Olympic Expo 2022 interactive exhibition tour and the 2017 China-UN Summit in New York City. The team also worked on Michael Jackson's 2014 hologram performance at the Billboard Music Awards.

"We are going to bring new heights to assisting the creative industries," he said.

Behind the stage

CGTN's Guo Meiping got a sneak peek at how it all works. Standing in a separate green screen room, the guest speaker's image is transmitted on stage where they were able to interact with a real moderator.

Although the projected person claimed he was in London, he was actually standing just meters from the stage.

Lazius Kaye, founder of Creative Friends Asia, told CGTN that this event was just a local demonstration, but that the tech can be applied to remote locations allowing speakers from across the globe to plug in to an event.

Founder of Creative Friends Asia, Lazius Kaye, tests out the hologram tech in the green screen room. /CGTN Photo

Garson said he could project a person from China to the US without any noticeable time lag, so the projected person can have real-time interaction with people in the target location.

The holographic image is picked up by a single lens reflex camera so projected content is a 2D video stream.

But staff pointed out that the real magic lies in the low-latency streaming tech.

Holograms in China

Compared to VR and AR, which are hot properties for investors worldwide, holograms in comparison may sound a little outdated.

But many companies in China have already got involved in this aspect of technology.

Beijing-based FUTURUS claimed to have created "the world's only colorful media-free holographic display". And back in 2003 when Hong Kong rock band Beyond celebrated their 10th birthday, band members used holographic technology to create a virtual projection of their late frontman, Wong Ka-kui.

A proof-of-concept video shows FUTURUS' holographic technology. /Weibo Screenshot.

A home-made "pyramid" holographic device was also a hit in China, when the Japanese virtual idol Hatsune Miku landed in Beijing for a holographic concert.

While still in its infancy for talks and panel debates, the guest speakers at HOLOGRAM are already aware of the possibilities this new technology can bring.

“Holograms are the kinda things you see in the movies, so when I heard it was going to be used to give talks to enhance the creative industry, I immediately saw the benefits in an event like this”, Polly Chu, former CCO of JWT China, told Lush Magazine.