BA considers ‘digital pills’ to improve inflight experience
British Airways is exploring the possibility of feeding passengers ‘digital pills’ that could wirelessly beam diagnostic health information to the crew.
The ‘ingestible sensors’ could work alongside in-cabin sleep monitors and data from wearable technology and smartphones, says BA, to inform the crew when a passenger is hot, cold, hungry, asleep, awake, nervous or uncomfortable.
The airline’s vision is revealed in a patent application for a ‘system and method for controlling the travel environment for a passenger’ published by the Intellectual Property Office seen by the Evening Standard.
US firm Proteus Digital Health already offers a kit that consists of a pill that reacts on contact with stomach acid, a wearable patch, and smartphone app, said the paper.
The airline hopes its systems will ‘provide information on the physiological state of the passenger and/or environment conditions in the vicinity of the passenger’.
Technology inside cabins could include cameras tracking body movement and sensors monitoring climate, lighting, humidity, sleep, eye movement, heart rate and body temperature, it says.
It could automatically adjust the climate when the passenger is asleep and recline their seat, or suggest an exercise routine to prevent fatigue.
A BA spokeswoman told the Standard: "We are always looking to deliver new innovations for our customers, whether it be in design or digital transformation. As such, we develop many ideas and submit many patents."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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