Holographic displays have been a common feature in science fiction movies, but experiencing them in real life requires expensive equipment.

Now, with the help of the front of an old CD case and a few bits of sticky tape, you can turn your smartphone into a hologram projector on your living room table for just a few pennies.

A video demonstrating the hack reveals fluorescent jellyfish seemingly hovering in mid-air and a butterfly flapping its wings.

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Turn your smartphone into a hologram projector using an old CD case and a few bits of tape. The images have 360 degree viewing angles, and appear to show 3D object floating above your phone in mid-air (pictured above)

You might think of hologram technology as high-tech, but to build this mini hologram projector, all you will need is a few household items.

First, you need a sheet of graph paper, a pen and a ruler to draw a basic trapezium that will form the blueprints for the device.

In the video, the dimensions used are 1 cm by 3.5 cm by 6 cm (0.4 by 1.4 by 2.4 inches), but these can be doubled or tripled for a better effect.

Next you will need to find an old plastic CD case and a sharp knife or glass cutter to build the sides of your holographic projector.

Using the trapezium drawn on the graph paper as a template, cut the shape out of the plastic.

Once you have cut out the first one, you can use it as a guide to cutting out the others, until you have four plastic shards of the same shape.

These shards should fit together to form an upside-down pyramid shape, and you can use glue or tape to keep them in place.

WHAT YOU NEED TO BUILD IT Graph Paper

CD case

Tape or super glue

Pen

Scissors

Smartphone

Knife or glass cutter Advertisement

To make the device come to life all you need to do is place it on top of your smartphone while it plays a Youtube video designed specifically for this purpose.

When up and running, you should have 360 degree viewing angles of the holographic video, placing a glowing jellyfish or fireworks display on your living room table.

The way it works is deceptively simple. The CD case provides just enough reflection to bounce the light from the image shown on the screen.

Because the plastic is transparent, you can also see straight through it, creating the illusion that the reflected object is hovering in mid air.

Because the video plays on all sides of the reflector, it can be viewed from any angle in the room, further adding to the illusion of a physical object being projected.

You will need to find an old plastic CD case and a sharp knife or glass cutter to build the sides of your holographic projector (left). Specially designed Youtube videos can then be played on your phone with the makeshift device on top, creating the illusion of a 3D image hovering above your kitchen table (right)

Holograms, virtual reality and augmented reality - where digital layers are added to your normal vision - are slowly creeping into the mainstream, with Microsoft debuting their HoloLens headset earlier this year.

And in June, Microsoft showed off how their new gadget would allow users to play Minecraft on the living room table.

Microsoft demoed its technology at E3 - the world's largest annual video game conference - held in Los Angeles.

Microsoft has shown off how Minecraft will be played using its HoloLens headset to conjure a holographic city built from tiny bricks on a coffee table (pictured)

Lydia Winters, Brand Director, Minecraft, Mojang, said that a new version of Minecraft has been built especially for HoloLens, which allows wearers to see 3D images superimposed over their vision.

In a demo, Saxs Perssons of Microsoft Studios wore the HoloLens to play Minecraft, with his view projected onto a wall for the audience to see.

Ms Winters played alongside him using a Surface tablet, explaining: 'One of the cool things about HoloLens is that it lets you display Minecraft virtually anywhere.'

The demo showed how a virtual Minecraft world can be manipulated using a player's voice and hand gestures, and how games could be superimposed onto everyday objects using the headset.

HoloLens is still in development, and won't even be released to developers until a year from now, according to reports.