Over two years ago, Paul Dietz, an old friend who used to run the Mitsubishi Electronics Research Lab, reached out about a new company who was developing with some technology that he said would blow me away. He showed me some videos and they were pretty damn cool, I had to admit, but I'm not sure I knew what they were showing me.
So Jim Ackerman and I went to visit their space in Redmond and we were just blown away. Parallel Reality was one of those technologies that was really just magic to me. This technology innovation allows a hundred or more viewers to simultaneously share a digital display, sign, or light and each see something different. From their website:
PARALLEL REALITY™ Displays are enabled by
a new pixel that has unprecedented capabilities.
These pixels 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.
CONVENTIONAL PIXEL PARALLEL REALITY™ PIXEL
Outputs only a single color Can simultaneously output up to millions
at any moment. of controllable rays of different colors and brightness.
I was really excited to see them at CES this year, showing off their tech with Delta Airlines. I took one of my tour groups there and we scheduled a time to see them. Wasn't sure they were looking forward to coming back but once they had a chance to see it, they were blown away too. In fact, a great deal of the CES press called this either the best tech or one of the best techs of the show.
The possibilities for this technology are endless. With Parallel Reality, we can create personalized experiences at retail (Jim & I saw a demo of this already) and better connect with the shoppers in a store. Or while at a sporting event in a stadium, we can all see tailored content on the Jumbotrons. Later this year, they'll be testing the tech at the Detroit airport, delivering personalized boarding information to travelers. The possibilities are endless.
Check out the video I took below and reach out to find out more about what they're doing. We hope to be able to showcase them at the Lab in the future!