This Holographic Watch Actually Fits on a Wrist—Sort of

Science fiction movies, television shows, and books have had us drooling over holographic displays for decades now. The idea of having a three-dimensional display being projected in real space is an alluring one. Unfortunately, nobody has quite figured how to achieve that in a practical way. The closest we’ve come are 3D TVs and volumetric displays. But YouTuber JLaservideo has devised a method for projecting a holographic display from a watch—and it even mostly fits on a wrist!

To tamper your expectations, we have to point out that this wearable isn’t capable of producing a 3D holographic image. Instead, it projects a two-dimensional display onto a cloud of “smoke.” Even so, the effect is very impressive—if not entirely practical. At the very least, it would be a great piece for some cyberpunk cosplay. The device is divided up into two separate parts: the wristwatch that emits a stream of synthetic smoke, and the projector unit that shines a live video feed onto that smoke. The video feed is coming from a smartphone, so anything can be shown by the holographic projection.

To build this, JLaservideo cannibalized and repurposed both a miniature projector and an ultrasonic humidifier. That humidifier uses ultrasonic waves to excite water molecules in order to create water vapor. That was chosen because it's compact and the water vapor is harmless. The actual ultrasonic module is, however, potentially dangerous if you make direct contact with it. After breaking those devices down to make them as small as possible, JLaservideo housed them within 3D-printed enclosures that can be strapped to the user’s arm. The projector unit is worn near the elbow, while the vapor generator is worn on the wish. It doesn’t exactly seem comfortable to wear, but it is certainly eye-catching.