In what looks like something straight out of the movies, a UK aerospace firm has released plans for a new windowless plane concept that could potentially become the future of flying.
The concept solves a universal problem that families everywhere have been fighting over ever since the beginning of air travel — who gets the window seat?
Instead, the futuristic planes will contain a series of OLED touch screens that run along the entire length of the aircraft.
Passengers will have the choice to utilize the thin screens like standard windows, simply displaying the surrounding vistas, or the option to change the view to whatever they want including films, work presentations, even random images.
Gareth Davies, chief designer at Technicon Design, the company responsible for the concept, elaborates further:
“Essentially you can display whatever you like on there, the content is only limited by your imagination.”
If you get sick of looking out into the sky, the windows can basically become your own personal entertainment system. In the video, the design firm demonstrates what is possible, including changing all the screens to make it look like the plane is flying through outer space.
While right now the idea is still just a concept, the good news is that much of the necessary technology already exists such as the flexible screens.
Several companies have already released TV’s that are curved in the same way. However, Davies adds that there is still some ways to go:
“Certain other aspects of the concept are not yet possible. The idea of this really is to push the boundaries.”
In addition to the possibilities for passengers, there are also a lot of potential benefits for airlines who adopt the concept. The new OLED displays would be much lighter than the standard windows that traditionally line passenger jets. This means that airlines would not only save significant money on fuel costs, but the flight range of each jet would also be extended which Davies says “is an enormous selling point.”
Hopefully, within ten to fifteen years something like this could actually become a reality, but for now it really only exists within the realm of possibility for the super-rich.
Mainstream windowless aircraft for the general public are unfortunately still a long ways away.
Although, there are other companies with similar plans working to push up the timetable. While it’s not quite as ambitious as the Technicon Design concept, US engineering firm Spike Aerospace already has plans in the works for a windowless cabin on board its luxury Spike S-512 Supersonic Jet that is expected to be released by the end of December this year.
One day, potentially all of us will be flying on these futuristic windowless jets.
Watch the fascinating video below to see exactly what the future of windowless flying could look like.
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