GROUNDBREAKING “PARALLEL REALITY” TECHNOLOGY COMING TO DELTA’S DETROIT AIR HUB

In partnership with Misapplied Sciences, Delta Air Lines is set to launch the first-ever “parallel reality” beta experience for customers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport later this month.

This category-defining, new opt-in technology, exposed for the first time in 2020, allows up to 100 customers to simultaneously see personalised flight information tailored to their unique trip on a single, shared digital screen, simplifying their journey through the airport. And in the language of choice of the passenger.

“This technology truly must be seen to be believed,” said Ranjan Goswami, Delta Airlines senior vice president customer experience. “We can’t wait for customers to experience the ease and convenience it can bring to their journeys, especially when paired with the wayfinding and personalisation capabilities of the Fly Delta app.

“The PARALLEL REALITY experience means customers will no longer have to search for flight and gate information – the personalised journey details the experience delivers is a powerful complement to Delta’s digital tools, the airport innovations we’ve already put in place and the unmatched service that our employees provide every day.”

Customers can find the new technology in Concourse A of the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, just past the security checkpoint. Customers departing from Detroit will be able to experience the impressive technology and share their input directly with Delta as the airline looks to understand its efficacy in the real world before potentially expanding to other airports.

How to experience the concept technology

  • After moving through security at Detroit, customers will see the PARALLEL REALITY display near the Delta Sky Club (Concourse A, McNamara Terminal). 
  • To initiate the experience:
    • All customers are welcome to interact with the experience. Ticketed passengers can simply scan their boarding pass.
    • Customers enrolled in digital identity through the Fly Delta App can activate facial recognition at the exhibit kiosk.   
  • Leveraging multi-view pixels and proprietary technology, the PARALLEL REALITY experience enables each customer to see personalised, in-language messages – tailored just to them – as they walk past the digital screen. 
    • Tailored messages include personalised wayfinding, flight information or updates to boarding time. 
    • This experience will always be opt-in, and customer information is not stored. 

Parallel Reality technology first caught the eye of experts at The Hangar, Delta’s innovation centre. The airline saw an opportunity to leverage this groundbreaking innovation to transform the airport experience, enabling a seamless, personalised journey as customers move from curb to gate.

New dimension of travel experience

“The spirit of innovation is a driving force across Delta. We’re constantly searching for ways to innovate to improve the customer experience meaningfully,” said Matt Muta, Delta Airlines senior president Innovation. “With the parallel reality technology, we saw an opportunity to transform another aspect of the airport journey into seamless, personalised and wholly unexpected.”

The Parallel Reality experience builds on Delta’s efforts to modernise the travel experience on the ground. In early 2021, the airline partnered with the Transportation Security Administration to introduce the first domestic curb-to-gate digital identity experience in Detroit, allowing customers to use facial recognition technology and their passport number and TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership to move through their day of travel seamlessly. Digital identity technology has since expanded to Atlanta, and new, state-of-the-art Delta terminals at Los Angeles and New York-LaGuardia now boast the technology as well.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *