Hologram

A hologram is an artificially created image using photons arranged in a manner to better display information...or trick people, depending on the situation at hand.

Fiction

In addition to physically changing form, Transformers across all continuities use holograms to maintain disguise in their alternate mode, especially when battle damage would otherwise make that difficult.

Generation 1 cartoon

The Autobot Hound often made use of holograms. While guarding Ravage with Mirage, Hound came up with the idea to use a hologram to trick the Decepticons and lead them into an ambush. Optimus Prime agreed, and Ravage was allowed to escape, believing he had learned of a military base with large amounts of rocket fuel. Megatron, however, saw through Ravage's escape, sending the Decepticons to the real base, while he went with a group of shoddy constructions to rub it in Prime's face. The hologram of the base worked just fine, though... More than Meets the Eye, Part 3

Shockwave was using a holographic projector to train with Sentinel drones when the Combaticons arrived and attacked them. Later, Shockwave and Starscream used the holographic projector to create various images of hostiles. This successfully distracted the Combaticons for some time, until Swindle discovered that their attackers were holograms. The Combaticons aren't really smart. That's why they let Onslaught do all the thinking. The Revenge of Bruticus

IDW comics continuity

Recognizing that the Autobots' lack of drivers would attract attention, they used Holomatter avatars to avoid detection. However, security measures can be devised specifically to detect holomatter, showing that organizations such as the Machination already anticipated Cybertronian interference.

Beast Wars/Beast Machines

By the Beast Era, holograms were in more wide scale use, including such applications as entertainment and military use. The Axalon and the Darksyde both made extensive use of hologram technology to run simulations and observe events in real time. On Cybertron, there were holo-chips which allowed Transformers to interface with them and see things virtually—some of which were not always virtuous, if you get our meaning. Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search.

This seat's taken.

Cybertron cartoon

Transformers were capable of creating holographic illusions of car interiors and drivers. A great many of these holographic drivers were based off of Bud Hansen, with others presumably being based off of Bud's brother Coby and his brother's (soon-to-be) girlfriend Lori. Hidden

Movie

After introducing the Autobots, Optimus Prime showed Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes a hologram of the devastation Cybertron suffered during the war with Megatron. The Decepticons also made use of holograms, using a single, mustached male as a display to avoid attracting attention. Oddly enough, the Decepticon holograms appear to have solid machinery underneath them, but when activated they appear to be a projection with nothing under the surface. Transformers

While on a mission chasing down Decepticons in the Australian outback, a NEST team mistakenly raided a party of humans. When they realized their mistake, the Autobots had to urgently try to keep their cover, so they rezzed up some driver holograms in a rush. They were in such a hurry that Optimus Prime and Ironhide copied Salvage's driver exactly. Fortunately none of the humans noticed the triplet drivers.

The next site the NEST team came to, they were more cautious to prevent making the same mistake. They discovered three construction vehicles. The vehicles were the Constructicons Kickback, Tread, and Trample. Their holographic drivers were realistic enough and able to carry out casual human conversation convincingly enough that they very nearly fooled even the human members of the NEST team. Just to make sure Kaminari Ishihara tossed a rock to one of the miners that was standing around outside of the Constructicon's cab. When he let it drop at his feet, William Lennox threw another rock, this time intending to hit him. The rock passed right through him blowing their cover. A fight ensued. The Veiled Threat

Notes

• This should NOT be confused with T-AI, who is really a computer program-she just chooses to manifest a human form via hologram.

External links

• Holography and Volumetric display on Wikipedia