New Technology Will
Suspend Consumer Goods
Images In 'Mid-Air'
10-9-1

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Shoppers may soon see images of advertised products floating in mid-air, a Hungarian-U.S. firm said on Monday at the unveiling of a new projection device.

"This innovative new media is based on American hardware and Hungarian software," Csaba Rakosy, managing director of Holomedia, told a news conference.

An appliance the size of a vending machine projects still or moving images about 40 cm (16 inches) in size which the human eye perceives as floating in mid-air, offering what developers say is a very effective marketing tool.

"Preliminary studies showed that these images achieve a faster and more lasting memory imprint," Holomedia marketing specialist Istvan Patai said.

Holomedia, a joint venture of the U.S.'s Provision Entertainment and Hungary's Deepworks, plans to install the terminals in shopping centers and sell airtime rather than the appliances themselves.

The two-dimensional color, high-definition images can only be seen at certain angles in front of the projection device, according to a Reuters correspondent who saw a demonstration.

The machines can be stand-alone or part of network.

"The long-term plan is to have many of these terminals installed and managed by central servers," he said, adding that they planned to have thousands of the terminals installed in a few years, with current marketing efforts focused on Hungary, Britain and Germany.