Saturday, January 29, 2011

Manchester Airport unveils hologram security guards

Manchester Airport has become the first in the UK to introduce a pair of virtual guards to their security team. Holograms John and Julie are being installed in the airport's Terminal 1 to help reduce security queues.

The duo, made using films of actual staff John Walsh and Julie Capper, use the same technology that brings animated band Gorillaz to live stages. Ms Capper said she was hoping she would "be able to rely on my virtual self to carry some of my workload".



The holograms use a surface manufactured to retain maximum transparency and strength, which the manufacturer claims is better than a glass mirror and allows the screening high definition video at high quality. The technology has been developed by multimedia entertainment company, Musion, whose founder James Rock said it had been "developed for many uses but it's perfectly suited for an airport environment".

He said that while it had been used mostly in an entertainment context so far, including supplying Simon Cowell with a hologram of Frank Sinatra to perform at his birthday party, he would "like to see its widespread use for practical purposes like the virtual assistants". The holograms have been installed at the entrance to the security search area of Terminal 1 to explain about liquid restrictions and to remind passengers to have boarding cards ready.

Video.

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