Most of the time when you see crew members in the holodeck it is for entertainment purposes. But holodecks do have another use: training and engineering design.

In "Booby Trap," Enterprise-D Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge finds himself in need of a simulation of various starship systems in order to solve a technical problem. To do this he creates the shipyard at Utopia Planitia (above Mars) where the Enterprise-D was designed and built.

NASA is currently developing the precursors to Starfleet's holodecks. Indeed, what has been shown on the screen has served as inspiration for what is appearing in the lab.

At NASA's Ames Research Center (located about an hour's drive south of where Starfleet Headquarters will be built), 3-D models of spacecraft are given a heightened sense of reality such that engineers can interact with them.

NASA calls this new tool the "virtual iron bird." The term "iron bird" is often used to describe a physical model of a new aircraft created to verify various systems.

According to project leader Robert Mah of NASA Ames' Smart Systems Research Laboratory (SSRL), "You can wander through data-enriched 3-D models on the computer screen to see how you can fix the spacecraft. This ability may help astronauts step through important, time-critical repairs more easily in a how-to format."

Among the planned implementations of this technology is a virtual version of the International Space Station. Specifically, simulations are being made of the Centrifuge Accommodation Module (CAM) which will house a large array of biomedical research hardware. (Photo courtesy NASA ARC)

The utility of these tools is obvious. According to NASA's Mah, "The virtual iron bird would minimize risk. Finding and solving a dangerous problem before construction of a new vehicle could save lives. Also, the virtual iron bird would make the development and operation of complex systems much more efficient."

Holotechnology has also found applications at Starfleet Medical too. In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Lifesigns," the Doctor creates a "holobody" wherein a Vidiian woman stricken by the deadly Phage has her personality transferred while the doctor attempts to find a cure for her real body.

At the University of Calgary's Sun Center of Excellence for Visual Genomics, 3-D models of cells are created within a room that bears a great resemblance to Starfleet's holodecks. By wearing 3-D glasses in the room one gets a 270-degree view of a cell's inner workings — down to the point of actually seeing a single strand of DNA. Visitors to the room report that the experience is so realistic that they are tempted to reach out and touch the images.

As Geordi LaForge recreates the shipyards at Utopia Planitia he also creates a holo-version of the ship's designer to help him figure things out, and he programs this holoperson in such an idealized way he becomes enamored of her (or it). In "Fair Haven," Captain Janeway fiddles with the settings of a character to make him a bit more to her liking. And of course, Voyager's Doctor always manages to push the envelope of what a hologram is capable of doing (even marrying a human woman in at least one potential future).

So far, today's early holodecks have yet to be used to allow people to conjure up their dream date. But it is certainly only a matter of time before today's holotechnology finds itself applied to precursors of Quark's ever-popular holosuites.

How can we make holograms look and act as real as they do in Star Trek? Share your theories at the Science & Technology message board!