Holographic horizons with Musion's showroom

Live team
1 day ago
4 min read

In December, the LIVE team took a trip over to Uxbridge – which is now the unlikely home of one of the world’s largest hologram showrooms

Words Oliver Webb

Located within The Atrium in Uxbridge, London, Musion 3D’s hologram showroom offers a striking glimpse into the future of live entertainment and communication. Spanning 11,000 sq ft, the space brings together decades of innovation in holography, AI and real-time telepresence under one roof. Led by founding director Ian O’Connell, the showroom opens up technology once reserved for major productions, inviting the public to experience life-sized digital avatars, celebrity holograms and immersive moments that blur the line between the physical and virtual.

Showroom magic

Throughout the showroom, guests get the opportunity to meet over 50 life-sized, AI-powered avatars, as well as well-known celebrities and media personalities, which are brought to life through Musion’s iconic holographic displays using Holotronic’s Hologauze and Musion’s 3D Eyeliner technology. Also on display is a 20-foot F18 fighter jet as seen in Top Gun: Maverick, and even a full capture studio where visitors can become holograms themselves.

Visitors will undoubtedly be struck by how advanced the tech is, but seeing the showroom in person is essential to truly appreciate it. After opening the doors to the public for the first time, O’Connell shared the story behind the company and their mission, detailing why this space marks a new milestone for the industry that Musion 3D helped create.

“We are deeply proud to showcase more than two decades of Musion passion to the industry and public,” he begins. “It’s inspiring what’s now possible. For years, holograms have been viewed as an exclusive technology; something kept under lock and key only for major productions, marquee events or closed-door demonstrations. The showroom opens the magic to everyone by inspiring and educating the public on what is possible with holograms, while also showcasing the very best in European and Middle Eastern production of AI content and immersive design.”

Huddle up!

One of the standout features from the showroom are the huddle rooms where guests can dine together in different locations with interactive ‘no delay’ communications in 4K. The huddle rooms enable the chance to experience each other’s company as if you are in the same room and chat with people in other cities as if they were in the same space.

A trial of the rooms initially took place during lockdown, with participants in England and Scotland getting the chance to dine together across the divide. The trial ultimately enabled endless new possibilities for what Musion 3D can achieve with the rooms, and O’Connell is proud of the fact that this has also opened up other avenues within the holography industry.

O’Connell notes that Musion 3D technology is something you don’t know you need – until you see it. While the huddle rooms were initially designed to offer a restaurant experience that transcends geographical boundaries, they also have potential applications in corporate environments.

“It is a really unique, but also entertaining idea,” he says. “If you think of the money people spend in private rooms in restaurants, then this is no different. You would never have thought about enjoying a dining experience with somebody on the other side of the world because we’re conditioned to think that this kind of technology is only for a conference call.”

Despite O’Connell acknowledging the corporate market is the lowest-hanging fruit, there is plenty of scope for it in the future. He even encourages others to follow suit in creating their own ideas around the concept. “Once you start propagating this tech into the corporate market, then the ideas will be endless,” he says.

The concept is, however, unique to Musion 3D as a company. “Nobody else has anything like this and so we stand out,” adds O’Connell. “There are a lot of patents that cover this particular design because it’s probably the most compact design possible to provide a comfortable, natural environment in which life-size human beings can interact. The design was shaped on a shipping container as we could see this working within that space, where you could churn it out and make it much quicker, easier and cheaper to build.”

Visionary future

Musion 3D’s Holotronica Hologauze display was another standout feature of the showroom and was the first display upon arrival. The effect is so realistic that it took a few moments to realise there wasn’t actually a performer on stage. The technology works by projecting holographic avatars and performers directly onto a stage. Artists can appear live even when they’re performing from a different location, as their holograms are transmitted in real time.

This was followed by digital resurrections of famous musicians before witnessing the Hologram Holobox where my own digital avatar was created. Seeing my own digital self was surreal, highlighting just how advanced the technology has become.

Musion 3D’s big breakthrough came in 2005 when their technology was pioneered by the Gorillaz at the MTV Awards in Lisbon, Portugal. At the awards, the band performed Feel Good Inc with De La Soul appearing live alongside the animated characters. Since then, their products have been implemented for a wide range of uses, including everything from handheld smartphone displays to large 4K UHD installations for events, education and training and immersive attractions.

The showroom highlights the company’s growing impact across various industries, and provides an insight into the future of what is to come for visual experiences.