HOLOGRAPHIC
STORAGE TECHNOLOGY: A Viable Solution To The Mass Storage Requirements
Of Multimedia Computing. By Michael Soussan
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study of holography was to investigate and report
on the current status of holographic technology. In particular, the
author's mission was to sustain the thesis that holography may
in fact be, one day, the technology that dominates the way we use,
store and access information. To meet this goal the author researched
professional literature, visited companies, and academic institutions,
performed interviews and then synthesized his findings by identifying
underlying themes.
In addition, the author undertook to understand major economic factors
that will determine the success or failure of holographic technology
in moving from innovative concepts into profitable enterprises To
get the broadest perspective on the mechanisms used for moving new
technologies from the laboratory to the factory, the author examined
the effects of company culture and management, and the effects of
external forces such as the government and competition. The author
visited one of the major holographic storage companies, Tamarack Storage,
and at its different facilities (research, development, and manufacturing),
in order to observe a detailed cross-section of the companies and
their methods for bringing products to market.
2. Summary of findings:
The author's overall assessment, is that although many technologies
support multimedia computer applications, the need for higher density
removable media is accelerating new technical developments and bringing
them to the market. Improvement in magnetic disk technology and significant
cost reductions in these technologies are providing low cost per Gbyte
storage. However, the technologies to back up this fixed storage and
move large sets of data generated by emerging application like multimedia
are not yet available. Holographic storage appears to be the most
promising of the new technologies to address these requirements, and
products based on holographic technology will significantly increase
the ability of the user to address this requirement. The largest areas
of new opportunity for growth are: Computer backup, imaging /record
storage, high performance computing, multimedia computing, video servers,
portable computers and consumer video.
Table Of Content
|
|