Showing passengers’ personalised flight information on a single screen, Delta’s innovative new ‘parallel reality’ departure boards have launched in Detroit. Rose Dykins reports
Delta has debuted the world’s first ever ‘parallel reality’ experience for its passengers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport – where up to 100 different customers can look at a single departure board and see their own personal flight information – and no one else’s.
The experience eliminates the need to spend time searching through numerous rows of text on a departure board.
Developed by Misapplied Sciences, the parallel reality tech uses non-biometric object detection and multi-view pixels to create a highly personalised experience. Unlike regular pixels, which emit one colour of light in all directions, these pixels can send different colours of light in tens of thousands – or even millions – of directions.
Travellers can opt in for the parallel reality experience by checking in at Delta’s voluntary parallel reality experience near the Delta Sky Club at Concourse A in Delta Metropolitan airport’s McNamara Terminal.
They scan their digital or boarding pass, which creates a bespoke private viewing zone. The display then sends relevant flight information to that specific zone.
Customers then enter the viewing area to receive a personalised greeting and wayfinding instructions that are visible only to them.
An overhead sensor detects their presence and location using anonymous, non-biometric detection (ie, the sensor treats each passengers as an object without recognisable features, rather than a human with specific facial features).
As passengers move around the viewing area, the sensor continually shifts their private zone to their new location. It means they’ll see their personal flight information on the big screen wherever they are in the viewing area, for as long as they remain in there.
Detroit Metropolitan airport was chosen for the Parallel Reality technology due to its distinctive layout, which includes a centralised hallway ideal for hosting a large display that many Delta customers can view simultaneously.
Delta’s aim is to create a more streamlined and personalised airport experience for customers, allowing them to navigate the airport with ease.
The airline’s website reads: “We’re thrilled to bring the first public installation of Parallel technology in the world to DTW. The Parallel Reality experience can be applied in any public setting where individuals would benefit from seeing unique, personalised content tailored to their needs and preferences. Future applications of the technology could include stadiums, shopping centres, entertainment venues and more.”