A customer purchases a ticket via the contactless ticket vending machine. Photo: Courtesy of Easpeed

The world's first "contactless" holographic ticket vending machine was put into use in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui Province on Thursday, in an attempt to guarantee the safety of passengers by avoiding cross-infection caused by the coronavirus. 

By tapping the screen projected in the air through interactive holographic display technology, users can choose which metro station they need to go to and can pay for it without touching anything.

Contactless technology has been widely used during the COVID-19 epidemic. "It's a good opportunity to use the interactive holographic display technology in fields such as elevators and hospital registration machines to avoid cross-infection," the deputy general manager, surnamed Zhu, of Hefei-based Easpeed, the technology's developer, told the Global Times on Friday. Zhu added that it is still in the initial stages and more research will be done to improve the technology. 

Zhu also said customers need to get used to it as it's a totally new experience.

Hefei saw the use of "contactless" elevators in March, which were also developed by Easpeed using the same technology. "I don't need to touch the buttons to choose which floor I want to go to," a Hefei resident surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Friday, adding that the new technology attracted people's attention at a time of heightened hygiene awareness.