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Phased array optics (PAO) uses 2-D arrays of small screens to emit light and create the illusion of a 3-D image. It requires a lot of computing power, but advances in nanoelectronics may make it practical. PAO could be used for creating convincing holographic images, invisibility suits, and simulating entire cities or planets. It is considered a futuristic technology and could be among the first applications of nanotechnology. PAO may offer the best way to project a virtual reality.
Phased array optics (PAO) is the idea of creating two-dimensional (2-D) arrays of small screens programmed to emit light that is the specific amplitude and phase needed to create the illusion of a three-dimensional (3-D) image ). Implementing this concept would require a lot of computing power; many equations need to be solved instantly to create the proper optical output. This technology was mostly conceptual as of 2011, but with advances like nanoelectronics, portable phased array optics may become practical. The seminal article on phased array optics was written by Dr. Brian Wowk and is a chapter in the book Nanotechnology: Speculations on Molecular Abundance.
theoretical uses
If a large number of mini-displays are used and their states are updated quickly enough, any 3D image can be projected using phased array optics. The illusion would be convincing to anyone with the 2-D screen in their field of vision. A room with walls covered in phased array optics could function like a Star Trek “holodeck,” where holographic images are projected into the room.
Phased array optics could have many other uses. A suit covered in flexible PAOs could provide an illusion of invisibility by projecting an image of whatever is behind the user or give the illusion that the user is very far away or very close to a specific observer. The large phased array optics could simulate the look of entire cities at such a fine level of resolution that the illusion would be preserved even if binoculars were used. Extremely large PAOs surrounding a planet could provide the illusion that the planet is everywhere.
Futuristic technology
There is great technical difficulty in producing so many small screens and their corresponding computational hardware, so this technology is considered to be futuristic. It is often cited as an application of advanced nanotechnology. Crude so-called “invisibility suits” have been demonstrated but are very expensive and generally only provide the illusion to observers from one point of view.
A virtual reality
Besides directly touching the optic nerve, phased array optics may offer the best way to project a virtual reality. Screens at any distance from the user can be used to simulate objects at any distance. PAOs could enable the realistic creation of landscapes never seen before on Earth. As of 2011, PAOs were predicted to be among the first applications of nanotechnology, with the arrival of a usable technology considered likely by 2020.
