New technology connects cities with real-time digital ‘portals’
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
While travel is still heavily restricted, the cities of Vilnius, Lithuania, and Lublin, Poland, have become better connected through means of technology. New digital portals allow those in both cities to view a real-time glimpse into each other.
Developed by Portal, the two circular “doors” have been installed in both city centers. Near the main Vilnius train station, Portal’s real-time look-in allows Vilnius residents to interact with people on the main square in Lublin, Poland — a city more than 370 miles away. The portal uses a large screen, cameras and a live feed, and the initiators definitely did not hold back on the futuristic design.
Sign up to receive the daily TPG newsletter for more travel news!
The goal of the project is to encourage people to “rethink the meaning of unity,” per the company’s press release.
Benediktas Gylys, president of the Benediktas Gylys Foundation and credited with the initial idea, says that the portal symbolizes “a bridge that unifies and an invitation to rise above prejudices and disagreements that belong to the past.”
Vilnius Gediminas Technical University has been developing the portal for the past five years, and the delivery of the project lines up well with the pandemic and allowing people from other cultures to see each other at a time when most have remained at home. The team, together with the Benediktas Gylys Foundation and the Crossroads Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives, are planning to install portals in more cities in the future.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania, the country has imposed a nationwide quarantine until June 30, 2021, and Americans are not allowed in, though there are some exceptions. U.S. nationals are also not permitted to lawfully enter Poland at this time, with a few exceptions.
Featured photo courtesy of Go Vilnius.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer ends 8/3/2022.
With Status Boost™, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer ends 8/3/2022.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.