Big Data will soon meet Big Job 35,000 ft above the Earth. Airbus has announced that its new fleet of aircraft will be enabled with an Internet of Things platform, which will track every big and small detail from the galley to the seat to the washroom. “Following extensive market feedback and support from our industrial partners, Airbus has decided to proceed with an IoT* platform for the cabin, known as the Airbus Connected Experience,” the airline had announced earlier this year. Now, it has spelt out exactly what this means.
The Airbus smart cabin will have sensors virtually all over the aircraft. Among other things, these sensors will track and report:
• How many people have queued up outside lavatories
• What’s the waiting time outside the loo, in realtime, but also historical—sliced by aircraft type, sector, time of day, etc.
• How often the washrooms are being used and flushed
• If the toilet paper, soap and other toiletries are running out
• Which passengers have not buckled their seat belts
• How much space is available in the overhead bins—and where
• How much and what food is available in the galley. And what items are stacked on which trolley
In addition, passengers will get a customised stream of content on their in-flight entertainment screens, and personalized ads based on interest (eg: an upcoming concert at their final destination). Airbus also promises that the “connected seat” will offer personalised seat positions, with the option of pre-ordering their preferred meals and beverages via persona devices.
And no, this isn’t just a concept anymore. Bloomberg reports that Airbus has already begun testing this smart cabin on the A350. And will introduce it on the A321 fleet of aircraft in 2021. Can you hear the flush of excitement?