At Integrated Systems Europe 2026, Volum Technologies brought a sci-fi dream to life with a live demonstration of HoloTotem: our all-in-one, plug-and-play holographic capture and display unit. On-site attendees stepped right up to the Totem and chatted naturally with a life-size hologram of a colleague who was standing in a completely separate part of the venue.
This wasn't a flat video call on a TV screen, nor was it a fake, cartoonish video game avatar. HoloTotem captured a real person live using built-in 3D sensors and streamed them into the room at true 1:1 scale — letting users make eye contact, read natural body language, and talk in real time as if everyone were standing together in person.
How HoloTotem works
HoloTotem packs complex 3D capture and streaming into a simple, single device:
- Built-in 3D cameras — HoloTotem uses smart color and depth sensors to scan both a person's look and 3D shape instantly, building a lifelike digital hologram on the fly.
- Smart streaming — 3D video usually takes up huge amounts of data. Volum's software compresses the 3D feed in real time so it streams smoothly over standard local Wi-Fi or internet.
- Instant speed (sub-300ms delay) — The delay is so tiny (less than one-third of a second) that speech, eye contact, and reactions feel completely natural without awkward pauses.
The broader picture
UnitedXR brought together top European tech leaders, researchers, and event organizers. Volum's demonstration showed how life-size 3D presence solves real problems when people can't be in the same room:
- Businesses & factories — Bring senior engineers directly onto distant factory floors to guide repairs or review 3D designs together in real time.
- Hospitals & schools — Allow medical experts to run live, hands-on training sessions and let professors teach interactive classes across multiple campuses.
- Museums & live events — Bring remote tour guides, historical figures, or performers directly into galleries and exhibition spaces around the world.
What was a complex science experiment three years ago is now a simple, ready-to-use product you can deploy today.