High-Flight Entertainment: Meet Thales’ Immersive Business Class Seat
Thales, a leading provider of in-flight entertainment (IFE) and connectivity systems, is giving the industry a glimpse of the future with its immersive business class seat technology concept demonstrator. Built in conjunction with B/E Aerospace and BMW Design Works, it features an ultra high definition (UHD) 24 inch screen, touchpad controls integrated within the armrests, and eye tracking capabilities to name just a few.
See our video The Paris Air Show in 60 Seconds
Designed to personalize the passenger’s IFE to their interests and desires, it offers the potential to revolutionize the travel experience. I had the opportunity to test this innovative product and experience Thales’ vision of the future of IFE at the Paris Air Show guided by Brett Bleacher, Thale’s Director of Advanced Technology/Innovation and R&D.
Above: Brett Bleacher demonstrates features of the seat to a showgoer.
Sitting in the plush BMW provided leather seat of the demonstrator, which was situated in the Thales Pavilion, I instantly felt at ease. I began the process of calibrating my eyes to the screen, which uses a small infrared camera located at the bottom of the screen to track the movement of the my pupils. The task, in which I had to follow the movement of an aircraft as it crossed the screen, took all of 15 seconds before the calibration was successful. It felt surreal to be navigating the selection with my eyes – a concept that would have been unimaginable not too many years ago. From there, I was instructed to choose a movie. The “pod”, as my guide called it, has the ability to create a profile for individual users and was offering a selection tailored for Brett Bleacher. The pod connected to Mr. Bleacher’s cell phone through near field communication (NFC), a system that allows for the passenger to select their seat configuration, entertainment, and services before boarding the flight. Once the phone is within the pod’s field, it can be connected. To begin viewing, I directed my vision towards the Lord of the Rings movie, The Hobbit, and tapped on the touchpad located within the armrest.
Above: Taking in the UHD 24 inch monitor.
I then reclined the seat to an almost completely flat bed and watched as the screen automatically, without any manual input, changed angles to improve my view. The seat, boasting surround sound and massage capabilities, in a matter of a few moments had removed me from the chaos of the bustling Paris Air Show and placed me into a sleek, futuristic and relaxed setting. Mr. Bleacher then asked me to close my eyes as though I had fallen asleep during the movie. Incredibly, thanks to the technology of the eye tracker, the movie paused at the exact point the pod had determined I had fallen asleep. I opened my eyes and was impressed to see the movie resume. I glanced over to my guide and, sure enough, the movie paused again. This time, it was because the pod had assumed I was momentarily distracted away from the screen by some activity, such as cabin service, and it didn’t want me to miss any of the movie.
Just when I thought I had seen all of the immersive business class seat’s tricks and capabilities, I was in for one more surprise. Along the edge of the pod is an interactive virtual landscape panel on which various landscapes or vistas can be projected. In this case, Mr. Bleacher set up an image of a gorgeous sun setting on the edge of a pristine lake. Below it, a graphically presented flight schedule provided me with checkpoints to when breakfast would be served, our current location, and the eventual time we would reach our destination. To top it off, my guide then set the seat to “party mode” and I was suddenly in the middle of my personal disco.
Above: The side-mounted interactive virtual landscape acts like a window and includes a real time flight status indicator.
Several major airlines are believed to be in discussion with Thales over the full development and adoption of this technology for the next generation of business class seats. The technology on display underlines the speed with which the future of IFE is advancing and highlights the coming importance of the fully immersive experience.
