Eye tracking: the future of in-flight entertainment
What would make your long distance flight more enjoyable than an in-air eye tracking experience? Maybe a few extra inches of leg room, but the concept envisioned by Panasonic for the future of in-flight entertainment (IFE) sounds pretty sweet. Panasonic is seeking to “enlarge passengers’ onboard environment” in terms of both physical and perceived space. Integrating eye tracking, gesture control and voice recognition into IFE systems eliminates the need for physical handheld control hardware and enables passengers to extend beyond the boundaries of the cabin to explore virtual environments from their seats.
The eye tracking system would be embedded in the seatback screens, using a webcam-like technology and infrared lighting to track the eyes. The distance between the system and the user is only 30-40cm and can be integrated into screens as small as 23cm. Using eye tracking, the passengers can explore virtual renderings of their arrival airport and city, views from around the aircraft, and even a virtual meadow. In the future, perhaps passengers will be able to navigate menus, surf the web, and play games with their eyes. Eye control could eliminate the need for touch screens or handheld controllers, which suffer significant wear and tear. Plus, the new systems are not only easier to install, but also conserve already limited space; not to mention reducing the surface area for spreading of germs.
Eye tracking seems more promising than gesture control or voice control, at least in a confined airplane environment. Imagine trying to get some rest on a long flight and having the passenger next to you waving their arms around or barking voice commands. Communication Director of Panasonic Avionics, Brian Bardwell, anticipates the new technology to be available onboard aircraft in the next two years.
If eye tracking is moving to the skies in the next two years, I wonder where else we will see it in that time!
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