A quiet flight with thirty passengers to Barcelona –
you might think. But we are no ordinary travellers and this is no
average flight. As KLM staff from a variety of departments, we occupy
the front rows of the flight simulator.
Photo owned by NLR.
We’re taking part in a preliminary KLM study into the behaviour of
passengers wearing Virtual Reality (VR) headsets. Just imagine: while
you, the passenger, are reading your information and watching games and
movies in the virtual world, the cabin crew are serving meals or
providing safety instructions. How do they go about reaching the
passenger safely? How do you deal with turbulence? These are all
subjects that we, the guinea pigs, have the honour of testing today.
Photo owned by NLR.
It was fun to join our colleagues and play the part of passengers and
have an influence on the future of VR on board. You get to explore the
airport while you’re still on board.
The purser tells us to look for the Transfer Desk in Amsterdam using
VR. We find it by using the pointer to puncture balls in a kind of game
along the route. It’s all fun and useful. But there’s also a catch. When
I have my headset on, I find I ignore the orders. I can hear the
captain saying something about the weather and the destination far in
the distance, but I’m completely caught up in my virtual surroundings.
Photo owned by NLR.
And, all of a sudden, we’re hit by turbulence. Now I can’t even
puncture the balls. I make a sharp turn to the right to reach a ball
that’s too far away and I hit my neighbour’s hand in the process.
Fortunately, it’s a simulation. During a real flight a sudden movement
like that would be unsafe.
The cabin crew must have nerves of steel. It takes complete
discipline on their part to keep those of us with VR glasses in line. We
hardly even respond when they offer us our meals. Everyone is busy
trying to find and click on the virtual balls. Social skills? Forget it!
Photo owned by NLR.
It’s very much the question if service on board using VR will live up
to its promise. It’s going to look very different. And, as an
organisation, you have to think about just what it is you want to
communicate using VR. For instance, you can show what there is to do at
Schiphol and I imagine it would be great to see the captain talking to
me in the cockpit through my VR headset. And what about a virtual flight
safety demonstration, not a film or a cabin crew demonstration, but
finding the actual emergency exits in a virtual aircraft?
My stomach is grumbling. I’m longing to hear, “Dinner is served, take
off your headsets.” There’s no meal, but pizzas are on the way.
At this early stage, it takes some getting used to for the cabin
crew. But the possibilities are endless and, with the entertainment that
VR can offer, the hours will fly by, as it were. That could come in
handy on an intercontinental flight. I’m very curious to see the initial
test results. We’ll know more by early September.
Photo owned by NLR.
Immersive Cabin Project
KLM’s study is all part of the Immersive Cabin Project (IMCA)
which, in turn, is part of the Clean Sky 2 programme. In this way, the
European Commission wants to create a level playing field for the
European market. The results of this research on the effects of Virtual
and Augmented Reality on board by KLM together with the NLR institute,
will be used as a standard for the whole industry. As a leader in the
airline industry, the research team can further assist other airlines
and companies to develop similar applications. They will present their
findings in late September.
No comments:
Post a Comment