by Gabe Zaldivar
Last updated: 12:30 PM ET, Tue November 25, 2014
Image via WOAI via CNN
Enjoy a sci-fi trip before departing San Antonio International Airport.
WOAI reports a hologram dubbed 'Eva' greets visitors with TSA announcements as they make like cattle and corral for pre-boarding screening.
The report states that the hologram, or Avatar as referred to by the airport, is carefully placed to dish out TSA announcements that often times go ignored by busy travelers:
"Eva was created by Airus Media. She is 5'6" tall, and includes a life size image of an actress digitally projected onto an inch-think glass screen coated with a state of the art film. The avatar location in each line corresponds to the spot in the queue where passengers begin to stand during peak times. Motion sensors will trigger Eve's 90 second spiel, which is delivered in both English and Spanish."
We might not yet have ubiquitous flying cars, but we finally have a bevy of holograms doling out information, and we will take what we can get.
CNN grabbed some WOAI footage to deliver a glimpse of the technological marvel in action:
The future has indeed arrived, and it comes bearing polite suggestions for travel. Now Eva isn't the only hologram greeter in the nation. Similar technology has been employed at New York airports such as La Guardia, Newark and John F. Kennedy, via a 2012 ABC News report.
Here is Ava (No points for originality, San Antonio) greeting the Newark weary:
Dulles lays claim to being the first in the country with its Paige innovation:
It's almost like Halo's Cortana came into the real world to make sure we didn't take off our shoes when we didn't need to. London Luton Airport was one of the first to roll out the technology back in 2011, signaling the start of something quite amazing.
City Aviation Director Frank Miller spoke with WOAI on the innovative tool: "I have seen people walk right by a sign, for pre check, for example. And they still do everything that they don't have to do. But with Eva, it is something different. People will stop and take a look at it."
That really speaks to the value of a hologram. You can ignore a sign, but it's hard not to sate your curiosity for something new and intriguing like an Avatar. Of course, Eva may have to raise her voice once the novelty wears off.
Miller continues, "They do notice her, as they walk by and she's talking, they will glance over, they will take a longer look at her."
Now those flying out of San Antonio get information and a bit of entertainment with technology we sometimes see in fantastic sci-fi fare. Currently there are two Evas lurking at TSA checkpoints with another possibly coming to Terminal B, via WOAI. From there world domination is inevitable.
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