The headsets provide a movie theater experience, while blocking out all audio and visual stimuli from the surroundings.
A French start-up company has come up with a solution they believe will help flyers temporarily forget that they're stuck in metal tube 35,000 feet in the air, thanks to a headset that offers an immersive 3D cinematic experience.
It's an idea that has generated quick interest within the industry. Last week, XL Airways France became the first carrier to trial SkyTheater headsets. This week, another four carriers based in Europe and the Middle East have also agreed to pilot the devices, reports industry site Future Travel Experience (FTE). The identities of the airlines are being withheld because of non-disclosure agreements.
Despite appearances, the headset created by French start-up Skylights, is not a virtual reality device. Instead, the device works on a fixed screen and is designed to reproduce the cinematic experience in both 2D and 3D options. Users are immersed wholly in the movie-watching experience thanks to wraparound headsets that block out their surroundings -- if only temporarily. “Our mission is to bring the movie theatre or cinema experience on board using immersive glasses,” said Skylights CEO David Dicko in an interview with FTE. “It will give the passenger the sense that they're no longer where they are, which is on board an aircraft.”
Not only are the headsets designed to help flyers forget they're 35,000 feet in the air, they could also come in handy on no-frills airlines -- fleets which are often composed of older aircraft and conspicuously missing seatback screens. In the first phase of testing, XL Airways France asked flyers to test out the headsets on flights to the West Indies and Reunion Island. The next phase will involve a greater number of testers and could eventually lead to a roll-out this year. Last year, Qantas teamed up with Samsung in a pilot project that handed flyers virtual reality headsets to use in their airport lounges and First Class cabins on select flights.
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