Rethinking what’s next: exploring future display tech across key sectors

We assembled a team of 50 people from all disciplines for an innovation workshop to explore the current state of the art — and to ask: Where could this go next? How could it transform things for our clients? We brainstormed and imagined the possibilities across all four sectors, looking at both near-future applications and longer-term opportunities.

Event format and approach

This wasn’t your average meeting.

Hosted at our Manchester HQ, the session was designed to be hands-on and fast-paced. We encouraged creative thinking, rapid ideation, and collaboration across disciplines; from developers and designers to strategists, project managers, and client leads.

To spark ideas, we brought in a range of next-generation display tech including consumer-grade augmented and mixed reality headsets, as well as more specialised “light AR” implementations designed for industry and sport.

Participants were split into mixed teams and challenged to think beyond the tech itself, focusing instead on how these displays might solve real-world problems for clients both today and in years to come.

Each team rotated through the four sectors (Retail, Healthcare, Finance, and Travel & Hospitality), with just a few minutes at each station to generate and capture ideas. Afterwards, each sector lead took one of the most promising, or most out-there, concepts and developed it into a short pitch for the group.

Some teams stayed grounded in what's possible right now. Others pushed the limits of imagination. Both approaches were welcomed, and often, the magic happened in the space between.

Emerging themes and key ideas

Travel

The Travel sector generated a particularly rich set of ideas, ranging from practical travel enhancements to fully immersive virtual experiences.

Smarter journeys

• AR-powered assistants for navigating stations and tracking baggage

• Real-time overlays showing walking routes or platform details

• See-through MR experiences onboard planes or trains

Augmented exploration

• Marker-aware audio guides and live translations for smoother travel

• Personalised walking tours and city guides based on your interests

Virtual previews and alternatives

• VR holidays that let users “try before they fly”

• Hotel walkarounds and room previews before booking

Immersive in-transit experiences

• MR glass overlays revealing plane seating and surrounding environments

Hospitality

In Hospitality, ideas gravitated toward enhancing social connection, personalisation, and dining experiences - both in-person and virtually. Augmented dining

• AR menus with dietary filters and personality-based recommendations

• Customisable meals with real-time previews on your table

• Dine virtually anywhere, with custom backdrops and guests

Sensory enhancements

• Watch your food being cooked via AR

• Food visualisation to spark appetite or guide choices

• VR scent concepts to evoke smell-based memory and appetite

Social connection

• VR-enabled pub experiences and virtual sports matches

• Connect with friends in other venues or meet new people through overlays

Queue and menu management

• Real-time updates on menu availability and wait times

Healthcare

Healthcare ideas balanced clinical realism with bold innovation, targeting better communication, diagnosis, and access to care. Enhanced understanding

• AR overlays to visualise conditions during consultations

• Skin checks, pregnancy visualisations, and brain scans for mental health

Remote and immersive care

• Virtual GPs and MR therapists in the home

• Remote A&E triage, paramedic support, and family visits via MR

Training and surgery support

• VR/AR training for surgery, self-care, and wayfinding

• In-operation overlays and patient vitals shown on glasses

Personalised medicine

• 3D organ models, body part design for printing, and dysmorphia support

• Immersive education on prevention and outcomes

Retail

Retail ideas explored how to make shopping more personalised, playful, and frictionless. Try before you buy, virtually

• Virtual try-ons for clothes, furniture, and makeup

• AI-driven holograms showing users trying items on across retailers

Smart shopping journeys

• In-store AR overlays for product info, eco-credentials, and reviews

• Virtual shopping maps and guided lists

• Real-time virtual queues for better in-store flow

Immersive retail

• Green screen dressing rooms, alt-currency gaming crossovers, and metaverse-style virtual shops

Personalised recommendations

• Link to your own wardrobe, dynamic till prompts, and space-aware furniture visualisation

Finance

In Finance, ideas focused on making money more tangible, processes more transparent, and major decisions, like home buying, less intimidating. Visualising money and investments

• AR “money stacks” and visualised savings goals

• VR-based investment games, interactive advisors, and hands-on financial modelling

House buying reimagined

• Affordability overlays, renovation simulations, and dream-home visualisation tools

• Real-time data on local prices and property snag lists during viewings

Insurance and admin

• AI damage evaluation, scan-based repair support, and real-time insurance quotes

Smarter security

• Connect glasses to cash machines for one-time PINs and secure access

What’s Next?

This was just the beginning. Many of these ideas are now feeding into internal prototypes, follow-up discussions, and deeper research. As display technologies continue to evolve and merge with AI, mobility, and sensor tech, we’re excited to help our clients imagine what’s next.

If you're exploring how future tech could transform your sector, we’d love to collaborate - reach out to our teams today.