FROM THE ARCHIVE

How we got here.

Follow the papers, exhibitions and performances that shaped virtual presence. Dates below refer to the original source or event—not to an earlier publication by Presence Atlas.

History1865

Historical engraving explaining the hidden performer and reflective pane in a Pepper’s Ghost stage. — Bertrand / Le Monde Illustré · Source · Public domain · display crop

The stage trick that keeps finding a new audience

An 1865 illustration makes the geometry behind Pepper’s Ghost unusually clear.

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History1948

Before the spectacle: holography’s wavefront problem

The 1948 and 1962 papers explain why the technical meaning still matters.

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History2008

When holography became a window onto the street

MIT Museum’s 2008 exhibition put display holography in a public-art setting.

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History2012

Two famous “holograms,” two different experiences

CNN’s broadcast effect and Tupac’s stage appearance are a lesson in audience viewpoint.

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History2013

MIT inFORM’s actuated pin surface in a physical interaction demonstration. — 2013 research project · a physical shape display, not an optical hologram.MIT Tangible Media Group · Source · Research note
Credit & reuse status
inFORM dynamic shape display — Tangible Media Group / MIT Media Lab; photo/video support credited to Basheer Tome and Jifei Ou. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 on source gallery; commercial/public use requires review. No crop or artwork alteration. Terms. Resized / WebP conversion; full frame retained. **REFERENCE ONLY — NOT CLEARED FOR PRODUCTION.**

inFORM: when the display really moved

MIT’s 2013 shape display asks what presence could mean when the image pushes back.

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Research2018

Colored butterfly traces from the BYU optical-trap display, shown in the researchers’ original demonstration photograph. — 2018 research image · optical-trap prototype, not a retail product.BYU · Source · Research note
Credit & reuse status
BYU optical-trap butterfly demonstration — Nate Edwards / BYU Photo. Conditional editorial reuse terms; eligibility and intended use require owner review. Terms. Resized / WebP conversion; full frame retained. **REFERENCE ONLY — NOT CLEARED FOR PRODUCTION.**

A butterfly drawn with one moving particle

BYU’s 2018 optical-trap work made a tiny luminous volume—not a room-sized apparition.

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Research2019

A small colored butterfly-like trace from the Sussex acoustic-trap demonstration against a dark blue background. — 2019 research photograph · acoustic-trap prototype.University of Sussex · Source · Research note
Credit & reuse status
Multimodal Acoustic Trap Display butterfly — University of Sussex / MATD research team; individual photographer not specified. No open reuse permission established; owner review pending. Resized / WebP conversion; full frame retained. **REFERENCE ONLY — NOT CLEARED FOR PRODUCTION.**

One particle, three kinds of output

Sussex’s 2019 acoustic-trap prototype connected a visible trace with sound and touch.

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History2021

A seated participant using the original Project Starline booth, with its large display and surrounding capture equipment. — Google’s 2021 prototype · not a current product photograph.Google · Source · Research note
Credit & reuse status
Original Project Starline booth — Google; individual photographer not specified. No open reuse permission established; owner review pending. Resized / WebP conversion; full frame retained. **REFERENCE ONLY — NOT CLEARED FOR PRODUCTION.**

Before the product, there was a booth

Google’s 2021 Starline prototype treated the entire conversation as a display problem.

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Research2021

What “real-time holography” meant in a 2021 paper

A computational advance should be read with its experimental boundaries intact.

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Case studies2022

ABBA Voyage: presence is a whole production

What a purpose-built digital concert can teach a smaller installation.

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Case studies2025

A seated person facing a remote participant on an HP Dimension display, with cameras in its frame and a meeting controller on the table. — Official 2025 launch photograph · not the original 2021 Starline prototype.HP · Source · Research note
Credit & reuse status
HP Dimension with Google Beam launch photograph — HP; individual photographer not specified. No reuse license or production permission established; owner review pending. Resized / WebP conversion; full frame retained. **REFERENCE ONLY — NOT CLEARED FOR PRODUCTION.**

From Starline to Beam: what can you actually buy?

The research booth became a platform and an enterprise product. Keep those three things separate.

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Case studies2025

A shop window is part of the display

The 2025 tm:rw installation puts a retail context around rotating-LED imagery.

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History2025

Looking Glass HLD changes the content brief

A 2025 launch separates signage-style depth from interactive multiview work.

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