The September 2008 issue of the Gazette carried an intriguing article called, “Tomorrow’s Technology Now? TRENDS SHAPING TOMORROW’S MEDIA TECHNOLOGY TODAY - PART 1” [Editor’s Note: the December 2008 edition of the Gazette features the second part of the article—Tomorrow’s Technology Now? TRENDS SHAPING TOMORROW’S MEDIA TECHNOLOGY TODAY - PART 2]. One of the technological advancements discussed in Part 1 was how massive digital billboards would be used in the near future (10 years?) to communicate, advertise and entertain and that these systems could use RFID technology to adjust displayed content to the previously identified preferences of specific consumers passing by.

Interestingly, TruMedia Technologies has just invented digital billboard technology which features face-recognition ability. The technology analyzes images taken by a camera built into the billboard, and can track viewers’ faces to acquire viewing data for digital displays and screens. The system does not use a data storage or transmission system so the captured images are only maintained temporarily.

Other than face recognition, the company’s electronic billboards use standard digital signage technology which produces static images which are changed via computer (normally every six or eight seconds), and do not scroll, flash or employ video.

With the increasing popularity of outdoor digital signage systems, it is only a matter of time before competitors reverse-engineer TruMedia Technologies’ face-recognition technology and develops their own consumer-response systems, bringing advertisers and consumers one step closer to the world envisioned in the movies Blade Runner (1982) and Minority Report (2002).

By Darrell Woody

Gazette Staff Writer