British Airways could serve passengers "digital pill" to monitor in-flight happiness
British Airways could soon serve passengers a “digital pill” so it can monitor their stomach acidity levels and change their in-flight dining options accordingly, the Telegraph reports.
This is just one way the British flag carrier thinks having fliers swallow an “ingestible sensor” could help improve their travel experience.
The pill would be one part of a myriad of sensors, including temperature, sleep phase and heart rate, that the airline would use to check on a passenger’s physiological state through a flight and manage their sleep times, meals and in-flight entertainment usage.
The system “for controlling the travel environment for a passenger” has been explained in a patent application filed to the Intellectual Property Office earlier this year.
“What is desired is a system that facilitates greater efficiencies within the aircraft travel environment and enables improved control and personalisation of the passenger’s travel environment, in particular for enhanced passenger wellness and wellbeing when flying,” the application says.
It cites a “Jet Lag Fighter” app from Virgin Atlantic that allows users to enter personal data to acquire a programme to alleviate jet lag as a similar approach to customer wellbeing in the industry.