Holograms. Perhaps the Holy Grail in every geek's fantasy is having his own functioning holodeck ala Star Trek. Now Microsoft is about to fulfill that fantasy with their new research project the 3D 'HoloDesk' and better yet there's video proof of concept. Yes, we're about to enter science fiction.

The HoloDesk project is another futuristic development from the Sensors and Devices group at Microsoft Research Cambridge. They are the same folks that last week showed their other project the OmniTouch, a projector that can turn any surface into a touchsreen.

According to their website the group has "the goal of understanding how advances in technology will impact traditional computing and the ways in which people use and interact with computing devices." They have a few other cool 3D based projects going on but by far the coolest is the HoloDesk.

The Holodesk is an interactive system that allows users to see 3D images through the Kinect camera and create the illusion that they are directly interacting with the graphics. The group explains how they actually accomplished this astonishing feat:

"A virtual image of a 3D scene is rendered through a half silvered mirror and spatially aligned with the real-world for the viewer. Users easily reach into an interaction volume displaying the virtual image. This allows the user to literally get their hands into the virtual display."

"A novel real-time algorithm for representing hands and other physical objects, which are sensed by the Kinect inside this volume, allows physically realistic interaction between real and virtual 3D objects."

The video shows one member of the team playing with 3D balls. The user actually lifts the 3D ball and it's amazing to see how well the 3D image reacts to the real life manipulation. The research team member also showed how the HoloDesk can project a 3D prototype of the Windows Phone and use it. Just think about the implications for a minute: holographic phones that will weigh nothing.

The technology is still very much in its infant stages but the potential is definitely there. Think of how revolutionary games will be in the future. We could be playing a fully immersive 3D game, interacting with the characters. Or we can now watch movies that really unfold around us. Beam us up Scotty, we're ready for this 3D tech.