In this current day and age there seems to be endless possibilities in technical advance. Aviation is obviously a very interesting subject to consider what might happen in the future. Ideas of flying cars and self flying jets suddenly aren’t as crazy as they were thought to be 5 years ago. See below some definite innovations coming in the near future for the aviation industry.
Aviation and Robotics
Robotics seem to be finding their way into every industry replacing human jobs with more efficient robotic services. Breakthroughs such as SITA’s innovative automated check in kiosk, that moves to busy parts of the airport to relieve check in congesting are becoming a reality for the flying industry. This is only continuing to become a larger part of the industry as more money is spent on advance of robotics.
Personalised Experience
Airports and airlines now have the ability to collect passengers data by mass amounts which will allow for airports and airlines to tailor flying experience according to each person’s previous data. For example an airport might choose to notify a passenger who often buys things at duty free to give a special offer to them through the app. Therefore the airport improves its revenue intake and passengers enjoy a better flying experience.
In-flight services
Recent bans on electronic devices from UK and US governments, we expect in-flight services to show a lot of technological progress over the next 20 years. In-flight Wi-Fi will become an expectation in the near future and airlines are already taking steps to make this happen.
Recently some airlines have offered in-flight streaming of the latest TV and music options on mobile devices using cloud streaming technology on board the plane.
Single Token
Facial recognition technologies, known as single token travel are predicted to have a huge impact on aviation in the future. Single token travel is looking to become a staple of air travel in the near future. Technologies such as Aruba Happy Flow concept, which allows steps to get on a flight more seamless and easy for passengers.
Apps
Mobile apps allow huge potential for ultimate personalised flying. We are already seeing this being taken up by Miami International Airport. This airport is showing us what is possible with its location-aware app. This app provides full coverage of the airport and as travellers go through the airport the app provides information and support that is relevant to their flight. This includes updates on their gate, flight times and baggage collection. The app also offers map rotation and turn-by-turn directions and a ‘near me’ feature.
Augmented Reality
See the below image that shows what an augmented reality view of an airport for a passenger. The passenger’s vision is enhanced with information and functionalities that will make their flying experience easier and streamlined. It is thought that personalised offers could be made regular customers of a particular retailer such as a restaurant or shop. The key to augmented reality is that these offers are made visible and basically tangible which amplifies retailers and consumers relationships.