There are a lot of different versions of reality that technological progress has made possible. Augmented Reality. Virtual Reality. Mixed Reality. And now we can add one more to that list: Parallel Reality. The idea that multiple people can look at the same screen at the same time while all seeing different images. Giving them the ability to only see information or entertainment that is relevant to them.
The most obvious use cases for this remarkable new technology are public places where multiple people all need to find out disparate information at the same time. Say when traversing through an airport (is my flight on time?, what gate is it leaving from?, what baggage carousel do I need to find?, etc.) or while driving (road signs could provide precise directions to each driver based on their destination). Which explains why Delta will be commissioning the technology, created by Misapplied Sciences, starting with Detroit’s airport.
But there are far more impressive use cases. Such as two people with different nationalities (say one Japanese and one Italian) who can both watch the same movie in the same theater, albeit with each of them getting aided by sub-titles in different languages. In fact, you could customize the lighting effects for each viewer so that they see the images in whatever way provides them an optimal viewing experience.
Moreover, large-scale displays intended for widespread audiences could be created as well. Similar to those art installations that have two different images on it depending on which direction you’re walking, these installations could beam images in different directions allowing for different things to be seen at different angles.
“In one version of the tech, it can control the display in 18,000 directions; in another, meant for large-scale outdoor signage, it can control it in a million. The company has engineered display modules that can be arranged, Lego-like, in different configurations that allow for signage of varying sizes and shapes. A Windows PC performs the heavy computational lifting, and there’s software that lets a user assign different images to different viewing positions by pointing and clicking.”
One thing that’s not clear to me at first glance is how this technology actually works. If you’re not wearing special glasses or a heads up display how would the screen know what to show you? Would it pull that information (where you’re heading, what language you speak, etc.) from your phone or would it use facial recognition technology to recognize you further raising privacy concerns?
According to Fast Company the answer lies with Artificial Intelligence, “When you scan your boarding pass, you get associated with your flight info—not through facial recognition, but simply as a discrete blob in the cameras’ view. As you roam near the parallel-reality display, the software keeps tabs on your location, so that the signage can point your information at your precise spot.”
It does this through the creation of a new pixel that according to the Misapplied Sciences website, “can simultaneously project up to millions of light rays of different colors and brightness. Each ray can then be software-directed to a specific person.” Hence the ability for hundreds, or thousands, or even millions of people to see different things, all at the same time.
If all that is true then artists and advertisers are going to be able to pull off some pretty amazing, mind-blowing publicity stunts in the near future. Combine that with the potential for these displays to pop up in airports, hospitals, department stores, supermarkets, classrooms and anywhere else that unique information is displayed and it becomes clear that Parallel Reality has the potential to revolutionize the world in multiple ways all at the same time. Just like how their displays work.
Is Parallel Reality the Greatest Idea Ever?
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