TWO blonde, multi-lingual holograms are the latest arrivals at Edinburgh Airport.
The pair have been drafted in to speed up boarding times and help passengers navigate security in English, Polish, Spanish and Italian.
The holograms will even use props to describe what can be taken onto flights.
And the audio-visual technology will create the illusion of there being a real person standing in the terminal.
The holograms, built by Tensator, are available for 24 hours per day, are unpaid and will never tire or go on strike.
With record numbers of passengers at the airport, bosses have been attempting to find a way to speed up security check-in times and make restrictions on liquids easier to understand.
Ajay Joshi, Tensator’s , media product development manager, said: “We have worked closely with Edinburgh Airport to ensure that functionality of our system meets its requirements exactly, from script writing to choosing a Scottish actress to best represent the airport.
“This installation really demonstrates the flexibility of our virtual assistants.
“Messages and even languages can be altered with ease in order to deliver the right information to the specific passenger audience that is passing through the terminal at any particular point in time.”
Edinburgh Airport was Scotland’s busiest in August, with a three per cent rise taking passenger numbers close to the one million mark.
It is hoped that the fluency of the new holograms will help to welcome passengers from European countries, with the most popular including Poland, Spain and Italy.
Edinburgh Airport managing director Jim O’Sullivan said: “Passenger experience is central to everything we do here at Edinburgh Airport and we’re excited by these new additions to the team.
“We know that the more prepared passengers are, the quicker their time at security.
“The virtual assistants are an innovative and creative approach in assisting our passengers to be ready.”
