First came the virtual reality headsets and computer-enabled glasses, and now scientists in Japan are working on a phenomenon which has been long dreamt i. e. interactive holograms.

Designers at the Digital Nature Group at Japan's University of Tsukuba stated that they were able to develop the 3D images by using scanners, mirrors, and rapid-speed, high-intensity lasers.

The lab in a statement mentioned on its web site stated that firing the lasers, emitted by the femtosecond produces safer results than those generated by the nanosecond. Femtosecond is a quadrillionth of a second.

It is for the first time that such imagery has been developed. These cause no harm to humans if they touch them, according to Mashable.

Some earlier conducted studies with similar plasma-induced technology have never been able to yield such high-resolution images. Professor of optics and physics at the University of Rochester told PopSci. com that similar plasma-induced technology in earlier studies used to burn when touched.

According to the project's principal investigator Yoichi Ochiai, the team has also created playful projections in order to show their interactive capabilities, such as ticked-off checkboxes and broken hearts floating in real space.

Holography has become a major goal for researchers since its use has popularized in science fiction, particularly in iconic Star Wars scene in which Princess Leia is projected in an ethereal glow.

Virtual projections have become popular, especially when it comes to 'resurrecting' dead pop artists. US airport in recent years have employed virtual assistants to explain rules to travelers before passing through security. Physicists have even hypothesized that the universe is one massive hologram. John Baldoni, Forbes contributor and leadership consultant, said, "I want to be a hologram".