COVID-19 pandemic speeds up application of virtual screen black technology in real life

By Du Qiongfang Source:Global Times Published: 2020/4/15 23:23:41

An elevator user chooses the floor using a floating virtual screen.



With surging confirmed cases and death tolls, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the world seems like something from a sci-fi movie. But despair has never been the theme of such movies, and human beings will eventually be rescued by heroes and cutting-edge technologies that spring up amid turbulent eras. 

After the epidemic befell Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province, a slew of "black technologies," such as multi-functional infrared intelligent epidemic prevention robots that can deliver food and spray disinfectants and 5G telemedicine carts that allow diagnosis of isolated patients, have been developed to serve COVID-19 patients as well as prevent the spread of the virus. 

At the reception hall of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, there recently appeared a contactless virtual screen through which patients can make appointments and take queuing numbers without clicking on the physical keyboard of a queuing machine. They can just use a virtual screen floating in the air like the one in the Hollywood movie Iron Man. 

A similar screen also appeared in an office building in Shanghai where people taking the elevator can just choose the floors using a floating virtual screen. 

Both the device and equipment have made use of a core technology, the medium free floating image. These use light to form a stable image in the air without any medium, and the image can interact with human beings. 

Li Jun, co-founder of the company Xianghang (Shanghai) Technology Co, which provides the technology, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic sped up the use of the technology in practical terms and spurred mass production. 

The technology was released globally in 2014 but has not been widely used in products and applications due to its high costs. The company has tried to realize mass production and lower its costs. 

Before the technology was applied in the equipment in the Wuhan hospital and in the Shanghai office building, the technology has been on trial in research and development in the automobile, smart home, advertising and exhibition industries. But the application speed of the technology was very slow. 

"It takes time for a new technology to be applied in products because it involves customers' habits and the education of customers takes time and money. But after experiencing the epidemic, people's cognition of public environment hygiene and cross-infection became very swift," Li said. 

According to Li, Xianghang just spent half a month to develop the contactless queuing machine and spent one month in applying the equipment in the hospital. Li noted that the speed of use of these applications was much faster than he had expected. 

"The pandemic unexpectedly offers cutting-edge black technologies opportunities to get to the market faster," Li said, noting that the company has received over 200 domestic applications for contactless elevators and several European companies have sent e-mails to enquire about cooperation. 

Li said that even when the pandemic is over, contactless interaction technology will still be in demand in public areas because the costs and maintenance of equipment in the public areas are always problems. "Reducing labor costs and improving maintenance efficiency is needed in today's market," Li said. 



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