In our initial project outline we planned to research possible current and future energy consumption capabilities of holographic data storage. However due to lack of sufficient research and testing data we couldn’t accomplish this task. Holographic data is still a developing technology that hasn’t been introduced to the public, private and government sectors. It’s only being developed by research labs, mainly InPhase Technologies which was a subsidiary of Bell Labs that undertook the task of a form of holographic data storage for commercial use. However we are optimistic about the rapid development and use of Holographic data storage systems. GE has continued where InPhase Technologies left off and they have taken concrete steps to develop holographic data storage for public consumption. Nintendo has also mentioned the possibility of incorporating holographic data storage in their next entertainment system.

Below, we have posted a video of the work GE is doing with holographic data storage:

Another reason we are optimistic about the rapid development and use of holographic data storage systems is the fact that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages:

ADVANTAGES OF HOLOGRAPHIC DATA STORAGE:

• High Capacity – It can store at least 1 TB of data per square inch of storage medium.
• Long Durability – The Holographic data storage disk can last for at least 50 years.
• Fast random access to data compared to magnetic drives which take minutes to access data.
• Extremely useful for medical archiving. (magnetic storage devices typically have storage life of 5 years).
• Incredibly high transfer rates – Up to 1GB per seconds which is 40 times faster then a DVD.
• Extremely optimum for small portable devices because of low power consumption (10GB/Watt) and high data storage capacity for smaller dick sizes.

DISADVANTAGES OF HOLOGRAPHIC DATA STORAGE:

• Current data storage options on the market such as ‘blu ray’ disks can compete with projected storage capacities of  holographic data storage. We believe this make companies less eager to invest in holographic data storage if current technologies can compete.
• There are already emerging storage devices such as 3D optical data storage, similar to to holography but can store more data, specifically up to petabytes ( 1000 TB ) of data.

We also planned to look into the environmental effects of holographic data storage but again, due to lack of insufficient research and testing, we could not find any concrete data, however we came to the following conclusions on our own based on our own research:

• Holographic data storage will be beneficial for the environment because fewer disks will be needed to store data for institutions and hence there will be less material to dispose of.
• The media used to store holographic data is easier to dispose of and less harmful to the environment then magnetic disks.
• The longer archiving capability will produce less material to dispose of.

In our previous post we showed a prototype of a holographic data disk made by InPhase technologies in 2005. Below we have posted a more recent model of a holographic data storage disk developed by InPhase in 2009. However development of this model was discontinued due to the economic recession:

Image via InPhase Technology website.