SkyLights – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

August 15, 2019

VR Entertainment Being Trialed on British Airways Flights to New York

Airlines have been trialling virtual reality (VR) entertainment onboard long-haul flights for a number of years, with the likes of Spain’s Iberia using Inflight VR’s platform in conjunction with Pico Goblin 2 headsets for a mixed entertainment offering. This week British Airways (BA) has announced a limited rollout of SkyLights VR system AlloSky, offering onboard 3D cinema content.

The AlloSky headset is somewhat different from standalone VR devices like Oculus Go in that it offers 3DoF movie experiences only, rather than any other videogames or apps. The headset features a lightweight design (250g), 1080p resolution per eye, dioptric correction and is Bluetooth/WiFi enabled.

Being the first British airline to offer this option, BA will supply the new service to First Class customers flying select BA117 flights from London Heathrow to New York JFK from now until the end of 2019. They’ll be able to view a selection of award-winning films, documentaries and travel programmes in 2D, 3D or 360° formats. These can include films such as Aquaman, Crazy Rich Asians, ASTEROIDS!, Melita and many more.

“We are always looking at the latest technology to enhance our customers’ experience on the ground and in the air,” said Sajida Ismail, Head of Inflight Product at British Airways, in a statement. “Virtual reality has the power to revolutionise in-flight entertainment and we’re really excited to trial these new glasses as they should create a unique and memorable journey for our First customers”.

SkyLights is a former alumni of British Airways’ parent company IAG’s Hangar 51 start-up accelerator programme. This addition continues on from an earlier trial of the technology at Heathrow Terminal 5, giving customers a glimpse of the Club World cabin.

Additionally, because 2019 is BA’s centenary year the airline has produced BA 2119: Flight of the Future, an exhibition being held at London’s Saatchi Gallery throughout August. Visitors will be able to see what aviation could look like in the future as well as a VR experience called Fly, tracing humanities relationship to flying from Leonardo da Vinci and his ornithopter to the Wright Brothers’ success on Kitty Hawk.

As further development’s towards expanding VR as inflight entertainment continues, VRFocus will keep you updated.

August 15, 2019

British Airways Is The Next To Trial In-Flight VR/360 Viewing

Another major airline is set to trial in-flight VR entertainment. This time it’s UK giant, British Airways.

The company this week announced that it is trialing VR headset use in flights between London Heathrow to New York JFK. To do this, British Airways is using SkyLights’ specialist VR viewer, AlloSky.

Allosky is much closer to a simple phone-based VR headset than something like Oculus Quest. Powered by Qualcomm, the kit closely resembles a pair of goggles that weigh in at 250g. They support basic three degrees of freedom (3DOF) head-tracking, allowing you to watch a range of 360 degree content along with traditional and 3D films. 360 degree movies shown on the platform include Baobab’s Asteroids! and Breaking Fourth’s Bro Bots.

The headset offers 1080p resolution per eye, which is below what you might expect of consumer VR headsets. It looks a little like a halfway house between the VR devices of today and the 3D viewers companies like Sony used to produce. Given the limited amount of room you have on an aircraft, though, there’s not much need for them to be more than that.

The headset will be available to First Class customers on certain flights. The news comes as competitor Inflight VR announces a €4 million round in funding to expand its operations. VR flying certainly seems to be becoming big business, though we’ll be interested to see when and how technology allows it to go beyond simple video viewing. We’re probably a ways off from that.

Elsewhere, British Airways collaborated on the Fly VR experience currently showing in London’s Saatchi Gallery.

The post British Airways Is The Next To Trial In-Flight VR/360 Viewing appeared first on UploadVR.

February 18, 2019

Iberia to Offer VR Entertainment on Flights Between Madrid and New York

Thanks to standalone virtual reality (VR) headsets immersive entertainment can be enjoyed anywhere, especially when travelling long-haul. Specialist VR provider to the travel industry Inflight VR has recently announced a new collaboration with Iberia, helping to expand the airline’s in-flight entertainment options for passengers.

INFLIGHT VR

Iberia will run the new entertainment service on routes between Madrid and New York and Tel Aviv as part of a six-month trial period, making headsets available to passengers on the two daily Madrid-New York flights that Iberia operates with Airbus A350- 900s, and on the daily Madrid-Tel Aviv flight in an Airbus A330-200. Depending on how the trial goes Iberia will then decide whether to expand the service to other routes.

Inflight VR will be providing Iberia with Pico Goblin 2 headsets – just like it did for FlixBus – with passengers able to rent the headsets as an alternative to standard movie content. They’ll be able to choose videogames, films, city travelogues, and documentaries, including dives into the depths of the Red Sea.

Commenting on the new collaboration Nikolas Jaeger, founder and managing director of Inflight VR, said in a statement: “We think virtual reality has a great potential and it can change the air passenger experience as a part of the in-flight entertainment programme. The viewer is no longer a mere observer, but can take a stroll in the city he or she will be visiting, or simply relax before arriving at the destination.”

Ignacio Toval, Iberia’s Digital Transformation Director, added: ”We learned about Inflight VR through Hangar 51, IAG’s start-up accelerator programme. Since 2017, we’ve been working together to develop a VR solution that can offer a new experience to our customers. An important aspect of Iberia’s digital transformation push lies in the incorporation of new technologies and digital innovation during the entire travel experience, from the moment they think about buying a ticket to arrival at the destination.”

Additionally, Secret Location has teamed up with Skylights and Inflight VR to bring the studio’s cinematic adventure, The Great C to both company’s customers. Via Inflight’s VR entertainment system multiple Paris Star Alliance lounges at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and Fiumicino Airport in Rome will benefit, with a larger rollout expected at additional locations as well as Inflight’s in-flight VR system later this year. Skylights rollout will include five different Air France lounges also at the Charles de Gaulle Airport.

For further Inflight VR updates, keep reading VRFocus.

September 24, 2018

Alaska Airlines Begins Offering VR Movies on Some Flights

For many people, travelling by air is not a pleasant experience. It is often cramped, crowded and uncomfortable. As a result, the use of virtual reality (VR) to escape from the pressurised environment inside the aircraft cabin is on the rise. A trend that Alaska Airlines has picked up on, as they are beginning to roll out VR to some of its passengers.

Passengers on the Seattle to Boston and Boston to San Diego routes will soon be able to try out the SkyLights Allosky Cinematic VR headset, which will provide access to a range of forward-facing 3D and 360-degree films.

The SkyLights VR headset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and is said to provide HD resolution for each eye, while offering films from the company’s partner studios, including 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros and EIM.

As well as full-length movies such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Ready Player One in 3D and Ferdinand, passengers will also be able to explore a collection of VR short films, which cover subjects such as freediving, classical music and acrobatics.

According to the SkyLights website, the headset is also capable of allowing users to watch saved content that they have previously paid for on services such as YouTube, Netflix and Hulu, though at this point it is not known if this feature will be available to Alska Airlines passengers.

SkyLights is beginning to become known as a provider of VR in-flight entertainment, just last month the company announced a new VR system called Skykids, which was designed to entertain children aged 6-12 on long-haul flights, with the system being tested on French airlines XL Airways.

A number of airlines have been experimenting with offering VR entertainment to customers, and it seems that SkyLights is angling to be a leader in this specialised field. For future coverage of VR and airlines, keep checking back with VRFocus.

August 24, 2018

Children on Long Flights Can Enjoy VR Movies with SkyLights

As our own Kevin Eva has been known to lament, flying can be an uncomfortable experience. Spending several boring hours cramped in a flying tin can is usually something of a difficulty for adults, so for children it is much worse. SkyLights is proposing a solution with its virtual reality (VR) entertainment system designed for children.

French-American company SkyLights has launched a new VR system called Skykids, which is designed to entertain children between the ages of 6 to 12 on long-haul flights.

The Skykids system consists of a small ‘wearable cinema’ which allows children to watch a carefully curated set of 2D, 3D and forward-facing 360-degree videos without needing to leave their seats. Headphones are provided for audio, and a selection of videos suitable for children from the 20th Century Fox catalogue are available to choose from.

SkyLights has pointed to research which shows that children under 12 often get bored only an hour into a flight, and also noted that a survey conducted by Expedia found that unruly children were widely considered to be one of the most annoying types of passenger. As such, a system which could reliably absorb a child’s attention for long periods would likely be welcomes by many.

The company has also revealed to VentureBeat that the Skykids VR headset service underwent fleet-wide testing on the French airline XL Airways earlier this year, and feedback from customers for almost universally positive. In fact, on the vast majority of flights, demand for the devices outstripped supply, prompting the airline to plan on continuing to offer the devices after the summer vacation period.

The Skykids service will be offered to other airlines, alongside SkyLights other VR service, called Allosky VR, which is aimed towards adult customers in business class, offering higher-end specifications and a sleeker design.

For further news on new developments in the VR market, keep checking back with VRFocus.