Display Technology

How digital signage soars with Delta's Parallel Realities and digital transformation

Digital Signage Today's editor recently recounted experiencing Delta Airlines' digital transformation, including in-flight touchscreens and the Parallel Reality Experience at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. We reached out to Delta Airlines via email to learn more about the digital transformation, particularly the workings of Parallel Reality.

Walking towards the Parallel Reality entrance at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Photo Credit: Daniel Brown.

March 21, 2023 by Daniel Brown — Editor, Networld Media Group

Q: Can you tell me a little about the history of Parallel Realities and how it fits into the overall digital transformation strategy for Delta?

A: Over the past decade, Delta has made significant investments in the airport experience, with major upgrades to terminal infrastructure and technology. One of our guiding principles is making our airports "seamless speed" — in other words, creating airports that customers can journey through at their own pace, hands- and touch-free.

For years, we had looked for ways to improve flight information display boards — which by nature are crowded, built for use by many people at once. When we came across the technology Misapplied Sciences had created, we saw an opportunity to completely transform how customers receive information in the airport. The Parallel Reality technology streamlines the customer's airport journey by allowing a public screen to act as a personal one, delivering only information that is relevant to your individual journey. Ultimately, it's one more way to make the customer feel seen and valued.

Passengers can scan a QR code from the mobile app or their printed boarding passes to activate the experience at the Parallel Realities podium. Image credit: Daniel Brown.

Q: I was blown away as a passenger by the system and still cannot figure out how it works. Can you walk me through how different passengers, standing relatively near each other, can see completely different, privatized flight details when they scan the QR code?

A: The Parallel Reality experience uses proprietary, multi-pixel technology to direct different-colored light to each of the zones within the viewing area. When you scan your boarding pass to participate in the exhibit, a private viewing zone is created at your location; then, the display directs your relevant flight information to that zone.

While you're in the viewing area, an overhead motion sensor detects your presence and location using anonymous non-biometric object detection. As you move around the viewing area, the overhead sensor continually shifts your private zone to your new location, allowing you to see your personalized content as you move.

Q: Do you see other potential applications of the technology beyond the flight info, whether that be DOOH or something completely new and out of the box?

A: Essentially, Parallel Reality can be used in any setting where multiple people are looking for individualized information on a public screen — for instance, stadiums, shopping centers, entertainment venues, etc. The possibilities for Misapplied Science's technology are endless.

The overhead screen uses multi-pixel technology and privacy-focused technology to beam flight info privately and directly to a passenger's line of sight. Photo credit: Daniel Brown.

Q: How widely distributed is this tech? Is it in all Delta terminals, and do you see it spreading nationally and globally? What other innovations can we expect to see in this line from Delta in the coming year?

A: Right now, the Parallel Reality experience is only available in Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW). DTW was chosen because the physical layout of the airport — the display is housed in a central hub that is hard for outgoing passengers to miss.

While Parallel Reality is an obvious and, frankly, mind-bending example of Delta's innovation story, our teams are constantly looking for ways to improve the customer experience, both on the ground and in the air. One focus for this year is an expansion of digital ID, which uses facial matching technology to allow customers with TSA PreCheck to move through the airport seamlessly, without having to handle their government ID.

Delta Airlines has also added touch-enabled infotainment screens to the flight experience. Image credit: Daniel Brown.

About Daniel Brown

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Daniel Brown is the editor of Digital Signage Today, a contributing editor for Automation & Self-Service, and an accomplished writer and multimedia content producer with extensive experience covering technology and business. His work has appeared in a range of business and technology publications, including interviews with eminent business leaders, inventors and technologists. He has written extensively on AI and the integration of technology and business strategy with empathy and the human touch. Brown is the author of two novels and a podcaster. His previous experience includes IT work at an Ivy League research institution, education and business consulting, and retail sales and management.