CNN Beams Star Wars Technology for Election Night

Are you ready for this? Next Tuesday, at CNN's Election Center in New York, an Obama campaign strategist will be in the studio to comment on the incoming voting results. Only he'll be … (wait for it) in 3-D! As a hologram!

Instead of the normal flat-screen version of talking heads, the Obama spokesperson's image will be projected from Chicago and into the New York studio -- in a 360 view. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer will essentially be talking to the strategist just like when Princess Leia sent Obi-Wan Kenobi a hologram message that he was her only hope. Only there will be talk about Ohio, rather than Alderaan.

USA Today has the story and they say CNN also plans to conduct similar holographic interviews with McCain representatives in Phoenix.

How will it work? CNN will be shooting with 44 cameras at each location simultaneously (so they can capture their subject at every angle). Twenty computers at the site, combined with the New York office's hardware, will process and project the image in the studio. The subjects will see Mr. Blitzer and other CNN-ers on TVs at the locations so they can communicate with them properly.

CNN has been on top of their gadget game for the election. The New York Times had this story in April about their enormous, nifty touch-sensitive map that allowed CNN political reporter John King to zoom in on specific cities and towns to display election and polling results. They finally found a way to give the ol' numbers story some visual spunk.

Now they're getting into the 3-D realm. The guy behind it is David Bohrman, CNN senior vice president: More