Holocubic - 3D Hologram
A recreation of the open-source HoloCubic — an ESP32-based desktop cube with a Pepper's ghost 3D hologram display
HoloCubic
HoloCubic is a recreation of Peng Zhihui’s open-source project. It is a palm-sized desktop cube that uses a beam-splitter prism to create a Pepper’s ghost–style 3D holographic display, powered by an ESP32 microcontroller and a small LCD panel.
How It Works
The core trick is simple optics — a half-mirror prism sits at 45° above a horizontal LCD screen. The display renders a specially projected image, and the prism reflects it upward so it appears to float inside the cube. The ESP32 drives the display and handles WiFi connectivity for fetching live data like weather, time, and animations.
Key Specs
- MCU: ESP32-PICO-D4 with WiFi and Bluetooth
- Display: 0.96″ LCD (240×240) behind a beam-splitter prism
- Sensors: MPU6050 6-axis IMU for gesture-based UI navigation
- Housing: 3D-printed enclosure with a transparent prism cavity
- Power: USB-C
The IMU lets you tilt the cube to switch between app screens — weather, clock, animations — without touching it. The firmware is built on LVGL for the UI layer, with a modular app framework so new faces can be added easily.