Proto’s Mini Hologram-ish Display Gets Its First Public Tryout In AT&T Pop-Up Lounge

August 25, 2022 by Dave Haynes

When I saw the reduced size version of Proto’s hologram-ish transparent LCD display at InfoComm back in June, I was struggling to come up with a use-case for the units – much more so than for the life-sized, shower stall-like seven foot tall units.

It’s one thing to see a person captured on a cleverly-lit white screen and relayed in full size, and quite another to see that person as a Hobbit inside a two foot tall unit. At that point, a desktop monitor would seemingly do.

But … the LA-based company is nonetheless marketing what it calls the Proto M, and has a customer in AT&T. The telecoms giant used a unit for a pop-up lounge in a beer brand’s pavilion, set up for the UFORIA LATINO MIX LIVE concert held August 4th in Dallas. The company says it was the “very first public activation” of the device, telling the “story of the Evolution of Mobility through holograms.”

Broken record time – it’s not a hologram, but the company, and a lot of vendors with products that do visual illusions, take the point of view that it needs to be called something … and the public kinda sorta very vaguely understands the concept of holograms.

Says Proto in PR:

At AT&T’s Evolución Lounge, visitors were able to experience the history of mobile phones in a series of spinning holograms produced by Proto for the M, all set in a 70s-style vintage pay phone shell. The AT&T Evolución Lounge was at the Dos Equis Pavillion during the UFORIA LATINO MIX LIVE concert on August 4 which featured Latin music artists Ricky Martin, Becky G, Arcángel, and Jhayco. 

For the activation, Proto presented mobile communication devices spanning 1995 to the present day standard smart phone – the unspoken message being that Proto and holograms are rapidly becoming the next dimension in telecommunications.

AT&T was an early adopter of Proto’s technology, having installed a Proto Epic in May 2021 at the AT&T Perch at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta to allow fans to engage with Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC players during games, and subsequently using it at that year’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. 

“It’s thrilling to see the Proto M step out into the real world,” says Proto inventor and founder David Nussbaum. “This activation is especially meaningful because it ties Proto to both the history and the future of telecommunications. We’re so proud that this first outing is with AT&T and CAA.”

The Proto M, the company says, will be released in enterprise and consumer editions later this year.