Imagine being guided through a foreign airport by personalized messages in your language giving you vital information to your trip onward.

That system is just what Delta Air Lines will soon be testing on 100 customers later this year at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In effect, it is a "parallel reality." Multiple people will look at the same screen and see different things!

No People Movers Needed
Using multi-view pixels, the technology offers information and guidance, tailored to the individual flyer. So multiple people may look at one screen and receive different messages at the same time. That information could be flight information, boarding time, directions to a next gate or the nearest airline club or where to get a meal close by. For folks who have reached their destination, the information could be local weather or transportation or even things to do in town. Delta is already thinking about new ways to use this technology to deliver great experiences to their passengers.

Impressive Wayfinding Technology---How It Works
Debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, this PARALLEL REALITY^TM experience will make it easier for travelers to navigate through airports, saving them time and stress. The tech company behind this beta test is Misapplied Sciences (MS). Neither Delta or MS is talking about how the technology works but I think they use facial recognition to match the passengers to their profiles and travel information, then project the "right" information in the direction of the individual flyer.

Delta is an Innovator
Before writing this Herman Trend Alert, I had no idea that Delta was so dedicated to innovation and advancing technology. What I also did not realize was that Delta has led the industry in transforming the customer experience in many ways. Now that I think about it, they were the first to offer screening lanes and the first airline to introduce the first end-to-end biometric terminal in the US at Atlanta's international airport, real-time RFID bag tracking and automatic check-in via the Fly Delta mobile app, an alliance that will empower customers with seamless in-cabin connectivity experience, more efficient and high-tech automated screening lanes (including CLEAR^TM), and a groundbreaking app that helps Delta pilots avoid turbulence for a more comfortable flight. Not surprisingly, Fortune Magazine named Delta the "Most Admired Airline" for eight of the last nine years.

Another Smart Technology in the Arsenal
Parallel Reality^TM is another tool in the experience providers toolbox. While these upgrades may not have a huge impact on fliers, they have the capacity to significantly enhance the experience and create engaging moments in unexpected places. Kudos to Delta for being the first to embrace this groundbreaking Parallel Reality^TM technology and for having dedicated the vision, brand, and resources to help bring it to market. They will not be the last.

To access the Delta website about this technology, visit here (Image source). However, for some reason that site saya that this technology was first implemented in 2018. Who knew?

© Copyright 1998-2019 by The Herman Group of Companies, Inc., all rights reserved. From 'The Herman Trend Alert,' by Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurist. (800) 227-3566 or www.hermangroup.com    

The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group of Companies, Inc. Reprinted with permission.