Light Field Lab and OTOY Making the Star Trek Holodeck a Reality
OTOY, Inc and Light Field Lab, Inc, industry leaders in holographic rendering and display innovation, formally announce their partnership to deliver the industry’s first end-to-end holographic content creation to display ecosystem.
The partnership will leverage Light Field Lab’s revolutionary headgear-free holographic displays and OTOY’s ORBX Technology, the industry’s first open source and royalty free format for rendering media and real time graphics on Light Field Lab’s holographic display panels.
Original holographic content is in active development, spearheaded by Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, and Rod Roddenberry, CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment & Executive Producer, Star Trek: Discovery.
“OTOY has created the capture, rendering and streaming technology for the industry to transition to holographic content development, as well as the RNDR blockchain for IP rights and distribution,” said Emanuel. “We’re excited to use this platform to bring true holographic content to Light Field Lab’s displays, which will give consumers unbelievable experiences, without the burden of 3D glasses or VR headsets.”
Light Field Lab’s initial prototype modules will scale to form larger holographic video walls with hundreds of gigapixels of light field resolution setting the standard for fully immersive holographic experiences. OTOY’s blockchain GPU compute network (RNDR) will provide the scale to make rendering holographic content for these experiences widely available for the first time. Light Field Lab started demonstrating holographic prototypes with OTOY-rendered content earlier this year to leading industry stakeholders including Endeavor, Roddenberry Entertainment and Richard Kerris, former CTO of Lucasfilm and Advisor to OTOY.
“I see a lot of display technology marketed as 3D holograms,” said Kerris. “However, most of the things I see are actually just gimmicks. The holographic displays being developed by Light Field Lab, with OTOY’s 3D content, truly does have the potential to be the game changer we’ve been waiting for. The combination of breakthroughs in both rendering and display technologies could very well mark the beginning of a next-gen media revolution.” Kerris continued, “Your eyes freely focus on holographic objects without the need to wear glasses to see the 3D. The experience is unlike anything I’ve experienced and gives me hope on seeing their vision of the holodeck eventually come true.”
Both Light Field Lab and OTOY have committed to bring these experiences to professional and consumer markets, alongside an end-to-end content creation and distribution ecosystem, with the ultimate shared vision to enable the Star Trek Holodeck.
“The concept of the Holodeck was extremely important to my father as well as the Star Trek Universe,” said Rod Roddenberry about his late father, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek. “I want to see Star Trek’s technologies made real, and for the very first time, now believe that a real Holodeck is no longer limited to science fiction. Although it’s early days, my father would be beyond excited to know his vision is coming into reality thanks to OTOY’s trailblazing light field rendering, and the revolutionary holographic display systems created at Light Field Lab.”
Endeavor-backed holographic experiences will be exhibited in a slate of upcoming projects and campaigns. Prototypes and future products will feature content rendered by OTOY’s real-time light field physics engine and cloud architecture, led by the RNDR blockchain GPU compute network.
About Light Field Lab®, Inc.
Light Field Lab is building the world’s most innovative holographic platform with the mission to enable the holographic future. Starting with the holographic display, Light Field Lab is reinventing the very fabric of visual communication with a roadmap of technologies to seamlessly merge real and virtual worlds together. Based in San Jose, CA, Light Field Lab is backed by top-tier venture firms including Khosla Ventures.
About OTOY®, Inc.
OTOY Inc. is the definitive cloud graphics company, pioneering technology that is redefining content creation and delivery for media and entertainment organizations around the world. OTOY’s Academy Award®-winning technology is used by leading visual effects studios, artists, animators, designers, architects, and engineers, providing unprecedented creative freedom, new levels of realism, and new economics in content creation and distribution powered by the cloud.
About Roddenberry Entertainment
Roddenberry Entertainment is a science-fiction leader with a tradition of groundbreaking entertainment. Originally founded in 1967 by Gene Roddenberry, the company has since led a steady stable of science-fiction successes including Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and, most notably, Star Trek. Roddenberry Entertainment continues to produce entertainment for all audiences, employing a viewer-centric creative process and resulting in insightful explorations of humanity. The company’s mission is to make good on its namesake’s promise of superior genre entertainment while utilizing new and varied vehicles of delivery. Building on its TV roots, this entertainment pioneer has successfully ventured into graphic novels, documentaries, podcasts, comic strips and 360° films. Roddenberry Entertainment has set itself apart by creating content that surpasses mere entertainment; it challenges audiences to think, question and explore the world, as well as potential worlds beyond.
About Endeavor
Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG) is a global leader in sports, entertainment and fashion operating in more than 30 countries. Named one of Fortune’s 25 Most Important Private Companies, Endeavor is comprised of a number of industry-leading companies including WME, IMG and UFC. The Endeavor network specializes in talent representation and management; brand marketing, sponsorship and licensing; media sales and distribution; event operation and management; and sports training and league development.
