From Movie Magic to Reality: Design and Implementation of a DIY Pseudo-Holographic Display for Sci-Fi HUD Interfaces

Science-fiction movies often show glowing information floating in front of a user, but translating this familiar cinematic idea into a physical interface introduces practical constraints that films can easily hide. This paper explores those constraints through a human-computer interaction prototype built from inexpensive and reused components: a transparent polycarbonate sheet, see-through projection film, a consumer HD projector, a laptop, and a wireless presenter. The prototype was tested with three types of content: stylized web views, animated dashboards, and animated spatial models, to explore how different interface designs behave on a transparent display. Exploratory field observations revealed several recurring trade-offs. Brighter rooms made the screen appear more transparent, but the increased visibility of the surroundings reduced overall contrast and made small text particularly difficult to read. Movement around the display introduced another challenge, as presenters or viewers could accidentally block the projector beam and cause parts of the projected image to disappear. At the same time, the transparent screen allowed the content to be viewed from both sides, although text appeared mirrored when viewed from the side opposite the projector. The prototype is therefore not presented as true holography or as evidence of superior usability. Instead, it demonstrates what is gained and lost when cinematic HUD ideas are translated into a shared transparent projection display. The design is further evaluated through the seven Principles of Universal Design, highlighting both inclusive possibilities and remaining barriers. These findings lead to practical guidance for the design of future transparent and HUD-style interfaces.