With its first NOVAC holographic display table in operation, Avalon Holographics of St. John’s is preparing to ramp up sales in the coming year and deploy working models to the U.S.

The company, which can legitimately claim to be a global leader in holographic display technology, received a $1.02 million grant from the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Industry, Energy and Technology in August to enhance NOVAC so it can be transported. The total cost of the project was $3.9 million.

Avalon has completed its first NOVAC display table. Its display surface is about one square yard, and the holograms on it are about one foot deep. It allows holographic simulations, meaning full-colour 3D displays in minute detail that can be manipulated easily. The problem is that the complex device is in St. John’s and can’t be moved without disrupting the system. The current project is enhancing the machine so it can be built in St. John’s and shipped to bigger markets.

“This funding is crucial for us to refine and enhance our NOVAC holographic display table, making it more accessible to our customers around the world,” said Avalon Holographics Founder and President Wally Haas in a recent statement. “We are committed to delivering a high-quality outcome that not only benefits Avalon but also the province as a whole.”

Haas is the former founder of Avalon Microelectronic, which he sold in 2010 to Altera, now part of Intel. Five years later he founded Avalon Holographics, using the proceeds of his exit to build a company he hoped would lead the world in holographic imaging, or three-dimensional images produced by disruptions in light beams.

The flagship product is the NOVAC display table, which Haas says is “the world’s first truly holographic display.” Haas describes the mechanism as 3,000 TV sets in the space of one TV set. To give people an idea of what it’s like, he advises them to think of the chess game in the original Star Wars movie.

The first market for the product, which costs about $5 million, will be the defense establishment, in which the NOVAC can give miliary planners a detailed 3D display of critical terrain, showing obstructions, infrastructure, communication capabilities and other information. It’s a tool that could help with decisions on which lives may depend, so defence officials have shown keen interest in NOVAC, said Haas.

“I think it’s going to be super-exciting,” said Haas in an interview. “All the people who see the NOVAC table-top display get really excited, but to fully understand it you have to see it. But there’s only one in the world and it’s in St. John’s and not many people can get to St. John’s easily.”

This is why portability is such an important aspect of R&D for the Avalon team, which now amounts to 90 employees. The company has almost completed its first travel unit and has struck an agreement to send it to the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where prospective clients can view it.

Haas added that the company expects to have four trials with American clients in 2025, which he hopes will lead to sales.

Avalon meanwhile is working on a flat screen product, which would cost less and be more suitable for the medical market. It’s in talks with one hospital in Boston about the product, though it probably won’t be ready for a full launch for three years or more.

This product could be used for such tasks as the training of students, explaining complex medical procedures to patients, and in preparing for surgery. Said Haas: “To understand what’s going on inside the body without cutting someone open is valuable.”