While display makers are struggling to bring 3D images to your screens and other visionaries are trying to convince us that holographic displays are the way to go, the guys over at MIT now claim that they have discovered a way in which to display 6D images. Wait, I thought the 4th dimension can really be taken into consideration by displays (time is only relevant to displays when it comes to responsiveness). But 6 dimensions? Are the MIT guys using strings in their new displays?

Not quite. MIT researchers recently demoed a super realistic "passive 6-D reflectance field display" that not only looks great, but also respond to stimuli, like lighting conditions. It seems no electronic components are needed for these displays to work properly. The images will be able to change over time as lighting conditions change. The displays will respond to changes in viewpoint, but will be closer to holograms rather than lenticular images.

Responsible for the 6-D project is Ramesh Raskar, who together with his MIT colleagues created the display using only a series of lenses and screens. A working prototype will be presented at this year’s SIGGRAPH conference.

Check out this MIT page and be sure to watch the demo clip that explains how the whole thing works.

The demo system that will be presented at SYGRAPH will only feature a low resolution array. Larger images won’t be feasible in less than 10 years from now, as MIT scientists claim.