Hi all! Ric here, done talking about dilithium because apparently that is a controversial topic
that gets some people saltier than the salt lamps themselves. So instead, let’s take a
break from the workings of a Starship’s propulsion system and instead look into a recreational device
that we’d all readily abuse, the Holodeck! Although, I’d say that although Holodecks
are indeed recreational, they are one-hundred percent necessary on most Starfleet ships. Being
confined to artificial environments made up of regulated air, a constant internal temperature,
ceilings everywhere you go, repeating corridors and a very finite amount of room surrounded by
the infinite wall of space, is not exactly healthy for the mind. Especially species,
who evolved and grew up on planetary surfaces, which is, like 99 percent of everyone in Trek.
Especially deep space explorer vessels that are expected to probably maintain
longs stints away from amiable M-class worlds, such as the Galaxy, Intrepid and Titan classes.
Things like the Defiant could have indeed benefitted from the inclusion of Holodecks,
however they were primarily battleships expected to operate either as part of a fleet, in which
case another vessel could provide recreational activities, or they routinely reported back to
installations for repair, resupply and R and R. The Holodeck as a technology is, in my opinion,
the ultimate end point for gaming to achieve, a fully interactive and responsive fictional
environment with immersion hampered only by your knowledge that it’s not real. No screens,
no clumsy headsets that take half an hour to set up, and no controller bound to your hands. During
Starfleet’s time under the United Earth, Holodecks were in their infancy and not part of a Starship’s
equipment, but after 100 years of development and the formation of the United Federation of Planets,
Rec-Rooms were installed on most Starfleet ships and were essentially holodecks.
Holographic technology at the time was in common use with even communications systems,
which I can only assume was a fad that eventually faded although apparently it was also replete with
errors. When used as real time communication for example, the USS Enterprise, under Pike’s command,
removed its Holo-communications systems because it even caused a shipwide power
failure. So that particular application of the technology was reduced until around the
2370s. But let’s reign in the tangent. Holodecks in the 23rd century were more
rudimentary, although they could simulate the look of other environments, there is some question as
to their interactivity and immersion in other areas, such as feel, smell and even taste.
Nevertheless, it shows a significant leap forwards in the designs. By the mid-24th century, the
holographic chambers were far, far more advanced and capable of simulating environments and vistas,
complete with all the other immersive sensory effects, but more impressively,
the level of programming and processing power behind the scenes had improved vastly.
Holodecks by this stage were adaptive and capable of forming complex scenarios with
relatively little input, based on interpretation and loose parameters. You could ask for a wood
table and get one without a programmer having to sculpt one from scratch,
instead the computer would generate a design based on its records. There is even more going on behind
the scenes with 24th century holodecks than may first appear too. Have you ever wondered how two
people can wander half a mile apart in a holodeck, despite it only being a 10 metre squared room?
So let’s look at how they work. A holodeck’s walls are filled with OHDs, Omni-Directions Holo Diodes,
these are projectors that fire out both light and force fields upon which to project it,
tailoring the forcefield, the canvas if you like to a particular shape,
than shading with the emitted light. Here, the simulation can get a little creative in
how it saves memory and power when forming this, for example, for a spectacular view,
it can simply project an image on its own walls, no need for a frocefield, and perhaps
even distant objects needn’t be rendered in full. This happens all the time in video games,
the zone behind the door you just closed is probably unloaded to save space, so it may be the
same in a holodeck. The back of that rock doesn’t exist yet, until it’s in your line of sight.
This is already an impressive level of technological achievement, to have an environment
rendered in real time, capable of shifting perspective based on the user’s location requires
no small amount of processing power and memory resources on the computer’s end. This is also why
a holodeck’s systems are frequently separate from the ships other power and computing resources.
Typically, not always. As for moving beyond the supposed confines of the holodeck once you are
enclosed within it? In this case, the computer can simply project a forcefield floor for you to
walk on, then slide it around as you move, so in reality, you are walking on the spot, like on a
treadmill, just one that is responding instantly to you movements so as not to disorientate you.
Thing get even more impressive when another person enters the holodeck.
In this case, the system is now tailoring the views to the perspective of several people,
easy enough to do when they are stood next to one another, but if they split up? Then the computer
has to get tricks-y. At this stage, if two individuals travel away from each other in-program
about 100 metres, clearly they are limited by the real dimensions of the holodeck,
but that would break the immersion. So, instead, it treadmills the floor as mentioned earlier
and shifts the imagery for each individual, altering the perspective for both parties. This
happens even to the extent that should person 1 look back to person 2, a false perspective is even
projected in between them, to give the appearance of 100 metres of distance, despite in reality,
they are only a fraction of that apart. Clever use of sound manipulation,
probably also done with force fields or something, and the illusion is complete. So that is a lot for
the holodeck to keep track of, and in my opinion, the far more impressive feat of engineering than
simply generating an image by itself. During the development of holodecks,
some bright spark also had the idea to involve transporter and replicator technology too.
Interactive objects within a program can also be synthesised in full too by replicators hidden
among the walls. This is all part of another subsystem of the holodeck, the Matter Conversion
subsystem. Basically, select objects within grabbing distance of the user, such as a tankard
of ale, or a book on a shelf are not in fact illusions, but are real objects generated from
replicator programs, stored in memory in the same way a replicator does this. Usually, the computer,
always reading the user’s movements, detects when they make a move towards an object and then subtly
replicates the object as they reach for it, within the hollow shell of light that is the hologram.
By the time their hand closes around the tankard, it is filled with actual replicated drink in
an actual container. These objects are also de-synthesised as they leave the user’s proximity,
unless programmed otherwise, I guess. This is why some things, such as snowballs
and water have been seen to leave the holodeck and not “despawn”, while others do. Additionally,
clothing and such can be created over the user, probably through the matter conversion system too,
but many elect to don a program-appropriate outfit before entry to a holodeck, which is probably both
for fun, and I imagine it does help with the immersion, not to feel like you are wearing
several layers of clothing, over your uniform. It’s likely too that this system of
micro-transporters and replicators is also responsible for extracting undesirable or
unhygienic elements from the holodeck. I mean, sports programs are going to generate
sweat aren’t they, and it’s only natural for the matter conversion system to want to extract such
contaminants from the holodeck and store them to be disposed of later. It deals with all sorts of
waste too, which I’m not going to elaborate on. There is also the “arch”, which is a system
incorporated to most holodecks, where an easily identifiable holographic arch of a
computer control panel is created next to where the actual exit is.
This helps an individual to easily locate the exit without terminating the program,
and alter parameters of the program, or gain access to the outside systems, again without
interrupting the holo-program in session. Holoprograms themselves are governed by safety
protocols with various levels of constraints, such as rendering dangerous objects inert
and even taking care to despawn hazards. I wonder what a holodeck safety test looks like.
Do you think someone’s job is to actually test programs by actively attempting to harm
themselves in a holodeck, throwing themselves at all the furniture to see if they bruise?
That being said, many holoprograms, especially those that involve a high degree of physical
activity can’t really be done without some degree of danger, for example, you can still
fall while skiing and twist an ankle, or even take an actual punch from a holographic boxer or one of
Worf’s combat programs. They just won’t kill you. So that is my rundown of how a holodeck works,
and I hope I have conveyed the level of sheer computing ingenuity and power that goes on
behind the scenes. I haven’t even touched on the complexity of the simulated personalities
that a well written holoprogram can create, or even the idea that the computer can basically
create an approximation of a personality based on the information it has access to.
That’s nuts, but considering the level of trickery and detail a holodeck can
conjure to create an immersive and responsive environment to begin with, about on par with
what I’d expect from the holodecks. All I know is that a holodeck would
be an excellent way to run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
I’ve been Ric, thanks for watching this video on the lore of the Holodeck and its hidden workings.
I’ll see you next time for another sci-fi video and until then, Computer, end program.