Ostendo Technology Developing Hologram Projectors For Smartphones, Watches

Anyone mesmerized by Princes Leia coming out of R2-D2's dome or who has longed to play on the Enterprise's holodeck will be overjoyed to hear that the next generation of smartphones and smartwatches could have their own hologram projectors.

Ostendo Technologies of Carlsbad, California, says it has been working on a miniature projector the size of a Tic Tac for the past nine years, the Wall Street Journal reported. The projector is powered by a chip that controls color, brightness and the angle of each beam. And we're not talking itty-bitty holograms. We're talking 48-inch diagonal.

Android Authority reports the first generation of the technology will project only 2D images and video on an impressive 5,000 dots per inch.

The chip and projector are expected to add just $30 to the price of a phone or watch and could be in consumers' hands next summer.

The company hopes to develop a 3D version but so far has not been able to scale down the necessary chips to mobile size.