SkyFI: India’s Own In-Flight Infotainment
An interface-based service for contactless in-flight infotainment facilitating an enhanced & stress-free experience in India’s domestic flights, as an aid to promote regional tourism & increase passenger confidence.
Timeframe
15 Days, Microsoft Design Challenge 2021
Designing for the New Normal
The theme for the design challenge outlining the spectrum of solution-building was “The New Normal” and how COVID-19’s impact was felt across the globe- hindering and disrupting routine interactions and community behavior across all facets of life.
The crux of the journey ahead lies within the very idea of realizing and further gauging the present as well as the possible future implications of the pandemic, and henceforth mapping actionable insights towards the direction of a more hopeful and better tomorrow.
Education, Healthcare, or Transportation?
The goal of the challenge was streamlined towards 3 different domains to choose from- each critically affected due to the tumultuous repercussions of the pandemic. All of these demanded innovative strategies to balance out the challenges faced within their respective spectrums and the extending ramifications of “using digital technology to solve the identified problem”.
Problem Identification
After intensive brainstorming and scaling the scope of problem identification within each of the available domains, “Transportation” was finalized, for the volume and the purview of its novelty in terms of the identified problems within the domain’s ambit.
The domain was further diverged and explored within its width, breadth, and depth, along with its extending boundaries, and all the identified problems were then segregated and organized into 5 umbrella categories:
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1. Managerial
The managerial problems encompass the fault lines present on the management front of various public transportation services and the inefficiency or the lack of attention paid towards refinement of the pre-existing legislation towards a more appropriate and updated system, post the influx of the virus.
2. Infrastructural
The infrastructural problems encircle all the issues lying within the boundaries of the physical systems and the structures associated with the transportation facilities, post the COVID outbreak. These highlight the need to move towards a more contactless yet interactive ecosystem, that doesn’t require the users to engage with touch-based interfaces, hence preventing the spread of the virus through physical contact.
3. Awareness-based
These highlight the issues related to the lack of awareness of the updated SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) guidelines and even the lack of standardization in several service-based systems, where there is massive engagement with public control or with the assemblies of the consumers. The major focus lies towards the inefficient transfer of information of basic travel guidelines, for users availing a public transportation service- when inside the vehicle, or when using the interconnects.
4. Behavioural
This section encircles the psychological aftermath of the outbreak, and how the same further lead to a massive shift in the behavioral patterns of user engagement with a service. The problems emphasize towards the hindered customer experience of these services, arising due to triggers like the constant fear of coming in contact with the virus, the panic arising out of unorderly social interactions, and the constant need for assurance. These are, in many ways, resultant of the previously mentioned issues, and further, prevent the user from even wanting to avail these services at all.
5. Miscellaneous
The problems lying within this domain may or may not directly fall under “transportation” topically, but are extensions mapping the repercussions of the impact felt by these services. These include the complications faced by the directly impacted sectors such as tourism and traffic control and also reach towards the boundaries of their subsequent consequences. The underlining hurdles of what forms the bigger picture are intensively investigated within the scope of this domain.
Streamlining the Goal
All the problems identified were mapped, explored, and investigated within their volumes, to develop the extent of innovative problem solving and their extending opportunity areas. The scope was further solidified via intensive literature study and the problems were converged towards a selective pool, incorporating an interconnected biome of prospects.
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In-Flight Passenger Entertainment
In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. The service has magnanimously evolved throughout history and has immense potential to enhance the passenger experience in a flight.
The situation of IFE provided in the airlines in India faces a humongous disparity when compared to the International players.
Henceforth the potential problem and opportunity areas within the paradigm of the IFE Services were further arrived at through in-depth background research and market analysis, keeping the Indian airlines and the associated IFE service providers at the center of the anatomization.
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Analyzing the Impact of COVID
A Combination of Travel Anxiety and Coronaphobia
In a vast country like India, with over 3.287 million square kilometers of landmass, traversing from one state to another can mean over 6 hours of continuous travel, even via a flight. In a situation like this many passengers- especially the ones availing the service for the first time, are bound to develop travel anxiety with the very onset of the flight i.e. with the take-off, which can be an intense stressor. The long routes possible within the subcontinent’s airspace allow for such an experience to further get magnified for long stretches of time, especially in the absence of any engaging pastime, seeing to how the service of IFE is absent in a vast majority of the domestic flights.
This combined with the fear of contracting the virus through social interactions or while coming in contact with any physical surface in the flight, have further caused the passengers to become extremely cautious and henceforth stressed and anxious throughout, especially when in a public or community setup, like when onboard the flight. The innumerable touch-points necessary within the process of onboarding and everything that follows further amplify the stress experienced by the passengers, who are now accustomed to germophobia, or more specifically “Coronaphobia”. This combined with the travel anxiety massively hinders the customer experience, with no immersive distractions available to engage with during the trip.
Becoming Accustomed to Consuming High Quality and Regularly Updated Content
Another major shift experienced globally with the onset of the pandemic and the associated lockdown is the engagement of the users with high quality and ever-evolving content available on online streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and many more. These platforms have developed the user perspective and henceforth their expectations, with the provision of world-class content of all forms-ranging from movies to TV shows and more, at the tip of their fingers. These platforms have bridged the gap between the availability of the highest quality of content and the users, without them having to even step outside their houses. This, with the constantly updated content curation, has shaped the user perspective towards demanding a more dynamic customer experience, evolving every minute. During the lockdown, this has only further amplified, as everyone spent a massive amount of time with these platforms, binging on the infectious content day in, day out.
In comparison to such platforms, when the entertainment provided via the IFE Systems (whenever available) especially in the Indian context is considered, a stark contrast can be noticed. The content bank is extremely limited, outdated, and narrow. There is a huge gap between what the passenger wants and what he/she is being provided by the airlines, if at all. When a customer would move from a platform like Netflix to an IFE System during a flight, the user experience would massively dip due to the limited spectrum and narrow variety of content available for consumption, during the trip.
Lack of Contactless Information
Another major issue that isn’t paid attention to is the lack of a shift towards a contactless system of information sharing within the flights. Whenever availing the service, the information pertaining to the trip, such as the SOP guidelines for handling emergency situations, and even the Airline branding material is communicated via physical interfaces such as handbooks, magazines and pamphlets. These allow for the possibility of the virus to spread via physical contact, as these aren’t disposed of post the trip but are rather reused by all the passengers engaging with the service. This, along with the need to directly interact with the cabin crew, whenever in need of a particular amenity during the trip, becomes a safety concern as the suggested practice of social distancing is being compromised upon. Especially in times of concern like the present, this is something that needs to be emphasized upon, for how necessary awareness and information sharing has become, to stay up-to-date and secure.
A Heavy Blow to The Tourism Industry
An extending consequence of the fear in people to make use of flights for traveling is the massive impact that is felt by the tourism industry- both domestic and international. These are paradoxically interconnected and are consequences of each other. The sheer terror of contracting the virus while traveling using the public transportation facilities, or while interacting with the transit interconnects such as the airports, has limited the users to want to engage in the services like flights, further having lead to a massive decrease in the influx and outflux of tourists within the subcontinent, on a humongous scale. The lack of emphasis being paid to redesigning the economic structure of prospects, for filling the void created within the tourism industry as a result of the lockdown, is what is most alarming especially for a country like India, which otherwise owes over 6.8% of its GDP and 8.1% of its total employment to Tourism (2019).
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Looking at the Problem through the User’s Lens
The user set that the problem area encompasses is humongous, on the scale of its diversity, encircling user sets from a myriad of social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. The service is to interact with a wide spectrum of perceptive modalities within the users, ranging from the language they communicate in, the medium of communication they use, their contextual understanding on basis of factors like their religious upbringing, and furthermore the generational gaps, owing to the diverse age groups that the passengers may belong to. This henceforth highlights the need for accessibility and inclusivity to be at the forefront of the vision, when defining the users, with respect to the distinct barriers that may exist especially when targeting a dynamic ecosystem that involves the influx and outflux of diverse users on a continuous basis.
Mapping the Stakeholders
The stakeholders mapped within the scope of the service of In-Flight Entertainment involve the direct users, which represent the passengers making use of the service by engaging in the consumption of the content being provided, followed by the cabin crew which may be integrated within the service from another end, handling the in-flight services or the structuring and provision of the IFE via different interaction points to the same interface.
Another massive key player in the ecosystem is the service provider, which in this case is the airline that is offering IFE to its passengers. The airline needs to outline, organize and formulate the provision of the service (if at all available) depending on how much it wants to invest within the provision, and act out creatively in terms of generating a revenue model out of the same that is beneficial to itself in the long run. It becomes a business decision altogether.
At the other end of the spectrum lie the ones who bridge the gap between the service and its feasible and practical provision to the airline, who further serve it directly to the consumers (passengers). This includes the hardware manufacturers, who are key players in terms of providing a medium that allows for the entertainment to be delivered, and henceforth have to be innovative in terms of how the same can be technologically advanced yet inclusive. These are followed by the connectivity service providers who are responsible for the shift from “In-Flight Entertainment (IFE)” to the modern concept of “In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC)”, allowing a channel for the delivery of content, via connectivity frameworks generated through wireless networks. Lastly, one of the most quintessential stakeholders are the content providers and distributors, who are responsible for the generation of the content to be consumed, and further distribute it through the viable channels for maximizing its reach. This is a space, which has a huge void in terms of the possibilities and prospects that haven’t been explored due to stagnancy in terms of the used channels or their exclusivity.
Government Schemes and Initative Prospects
Swadesh Darshan
The Swadesh Darshan Scheme is a scheme initiated by the Ministry of Tourism under the Government of India. The initiative aims to promote, develop and harness the potential of tourism (especially domestic) in India. The scheme is based on an innovative theme-based model, with each theme being called a “circuit” (with an exciting array of themes such as Wildlife, Spiritual, Sufi, Ramayana, Tirthankar, Tribal, and more) representing various tourist destinations. A tourist circuit is defined as “A route having at least three major tourist destinations which are distinct and apart. Circuits should have well-defined entry and exit points. A tourist who enters should get motivated to visit most of the places identified in the circuit.” Post the tremendous damage that the tourism industry has faced, it’s quintessential to emphasize on amplifying the prospects available within India, through domestic travel, emphasizing on such innovative initiatives which allow for culturally experiential travel, harboring a variety of escapades for everyone.
Incredible India
“Incredible India” is a milestone initiative by the Ministry of Tourism, through a myriad of campaigns by the Government of India to promote International Tourism in the country. The campaign is built upon formulated policies, initiatives, and marketing material such as brochures and advertisements, all emphasizing upon portraying India as an attractive tourist destination by showcasing diverse aspects of its culture, and expressing the compassion we have for our guests via campaigns such as “Atithi Devo Bhava” (Sanskrit for “Guests are like God”). The entire idea of representing the Indian values and culture through innovative campaign content is something that needs to be incorporated within the experience of traveling, owing to filling the huge gap that has been created in the International Tourism sector because of the pandemic. The culture needs to be incorporated within the content that is being served to our guests in the flights, to enhance their journey with an Indianized welcome. With an innovative strategy, the same can act as a boost to the vision, motivations and the missions of the Incredible India initiative.
Make in India
The “Make in India” initiative by the Government of India is to encourage companies to manufacture within the country and incentivize dedicated investments into manufacturing. The policy aims to motivate innovation in and by India while creating a conductive environment for investments, developing modern and efficient infrastructure, and opening up new sectors for foreign capitals. The initiative has targeted 25 economic sectors for job creation and skill enhancement while aiming “to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub”. With the devastating impact that the pandemic has had on the employment generation within the country, it’s quintessential to also focus on the prospects of curating content through the unemployed, providing them with incentives for the same, while also achieving an innovative and inclusive content bank. Also owing to the huge void of Indian players in the International IFE Market, it’s important to lay emphasis on the generation of innovative technology and services, by Indian innovators and pioneers across all levels.
The Need for a Collaborative and Symbiotic Ecosystem
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Carrying out primary research through user interviews and surveys, it was realized that more than 80% of the users traveling via a domestic flight, don’t even get access to the service of IFE. This was further validated via an intensive literature study highlighting how the service is only offered in a handful of airlines’ domestic aircraft. The major reason backing the lack of availability was found out to be the lack of affordability of the service setups, in comparison to the price at which the domestic flights are offered.
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When this lack of affordability was mapped out in quantifiable form, it was realized that over 54% of the cost of the setup was expenditure required on the hardware, and another 33% was the cost of the connectivity network laid out for the same. An alarming demographic was how the most integral part of the service i.e. the content curation, which is being offered to the passengers in a consumable format, had only 13% of the total cost devoted to itself, directing to how the quality of the same is outdated and substandard because of the major investment having been wasted on the hardware and the connectivity.
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As per market research and business analytics, the Indian IFEC market is estimated to grow considerably at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 11% by the year 2025, directing towards the expanding market for the service and how any healthy disruption or innovation would be more than welcome, allowing for developing on existing prospects creatively.
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Furthermore, the industry for domestic tourism within the nation is expected to expand enormously, with its prospects being referred to as the savior for the devastation that India’s GDP has suffered due to the Pandemic. Tourism altogether is expected to play a quintessential role in achieving India’s $5 trillion economy dream. Any step towards embracing this expansion is definitely in the right direction.
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Owing to how innumerable people all across the country lost their source of livelihood due to the pandemic, the governments at various levels implemented several inventive campaigns to be able to provide relief and incentives to the affected. One such initiative was adopted by the government of Rajasthan, to provide relief to the folk artists of the region, providing them with a monitory incentive in exchange for a 15–20 minute video recording capturing their performance, using any device such as mobile phones. This lays the foundation for inventive and frugal content that can be curated via such government lead initiatives, allowing for magnifying the reach of the art form and the artists, while providing them the necessary relief and also streamlining towards a form of entertainment that promotes our culture.
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Lastly, the upcoming connectivity prospects in the Indian airspace were researched upon and charted, arriving at how one key player that is to establish itself within the industry of in-flight connectivity is Reliance Jio, which plans on expanding with its upcoming 5G Network within the ecosystem of the Indian service providers, emphasizing upon delivering frugal and accessible connectivity to all.
Exploring the Possibilities
The solution-centric ideation was initiated via intensive brainstorming extending out of the generation of multiple “How Might We” statements, each further expanding via the associated solution measures. These were all mapped according to their priorities within an organized framework, after heuristic evaluation and card sorting.
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Going Contactless
The most important problem to solve was eliminating the need to interact with a physical interface that is continuous to be used by many passengers, as consecutive trips follow. This was quintessential to eliminate the touchpoint which could’ve otherwise been the reason for the spread of the virus. The possible solutions ranged from asking the passengers beforehand to curate and bring their own content, to shifting the provision of the IFE to the passenger’s personal electronic devices.
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From Entertainment to Infotainment
In times like today’s when being aware and informed has become a necessity, it’s important to understand that making the users interact with different interfaces for different needs, only makes their experience more complicated. The provision of information is scattered and needs to otherwise be efficiently organized in a more user-friendly and enjoyable format. Using the medium of entertainment to further club information within itself can make a huge difference in terms of how users are able to make the most of what’s provided to them. This can be done through a myriad of ways ranging from virtual information guides to trip planners and more.
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Feasibility through Frugality
Another major problem to be solved was the huge gap that needed to be filled between the IFE service and its affordability. The paramount reason for the service not being available in the majority of the Indian airlines’ domestic flights is the costly expenditure required on its setup. Seeing to how over 50% of the expenditure is on the hardware, getting rid of the need for an external hardware completely dissolves that outlay. Furthermore, the content and the connectivity need to be more innovatively laid down via more frugal alternatives, as previously mentioned.
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An Aid to Tourism
Seeing to how the service’s main engagement is with tourists, it has massive scope of promoting tourism furthermore by magnifying the cultural value of various tourist destinations in India, via innovative campaign lead content, such as dedicated themes embracing the “Swadesh Darshan Scheme”. The same can act as a window for the regions to present their tourist attractions and cultural magnificence via engaging entertainment as well as exclusive packages and/or discounts.
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Inclusivity and Accessibility
As previously deliberated upon, the user sets engaging with the service of IFE may belong to a vast variety of social, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Henceforth it’s integral for the services to be available and accessible to all the users, irrespective of their language preference, medium of speech or communication, and/or limitations of perception (any physical or cognitive disability). It’s important for the content and the technology to be inclusive in its expression via complementary tools such as multicultural and language fluid content, closed captioning and subtitles, the provision of a voice assistant and more.
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An Immersive Experience
There’s massive scope for enhancing the passenger experience while onboard a flight, by making the journey immersive through entertainment that is engaging and captivating. The entire prospect of community building can be utilized, making use of the community-like setup of the flight’s ecosystem, amalgamating interactions from all the passengers, while also ensuring social distancing. Immersive prospects such as community gaming and more can be optimized for the In-Flight experience, allowing the users to stay engaged during the course of the trip, and enjoy the journey as an escapade of its own.
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Social Distancing
Another prospect that the IFE service can innovatively incorporate within itself is the elimination of the need for direct communication between the cabin crew and the passengers for queries or in-flight services such as food ordering, allowing for efficient social distancing. The cabin crew engaging in representing the guidelines via hand gestures, while in the cabin, need not be required now as the same can be replaced with video and audio-based guides available on the IFE Systems instead, allowing for reduced contact. The passengers may further overcome the need to talk to each other by being in close vicinity, through a virtual community chat system endowed within the In-Flight Infotainment system allowing for socializing to take place without having to compromise on the social distancing guidelines.
Attribute Mapping
Further, the attributes were mapped out and arranged in order of their priority, in terms of their influence on the final service. ‘Informative’ and ‘entertaining’ being the two key attributes forming the very crux of the idea of delivering Infotainment to the users. This was followed by ‘safe’ in terms of how there has been emphasis laid upon the need to maintain a contactless setup, allowing for safety from the possibility of the spread of the virus through touch. ‘intuitive’, ‘accessible’ and ‘adaptive’ follow, highlighting the need for the user to be at the very center of the experience designed, allowing for it to be equally accessible, perceivable and understandable by them without having to compromise on their comfort, in an effortless fashion. Then there is an emphasis upon the need for the setup to be ‘frugal’ allowing for it to be amalgamated within the domestic flights as well, followed lastly by the need for a service that is ‘immersive’ allowing for an experiential escapade.
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India’s Own In-Flight Infotainment
SkyFI is an Interface based Service for Contactless In-Flight Infotainment, allowing for an Enhanced & Stress-Free Experience in India’s Domestic Flights, as an aid to promote Regional Tourism & increase Passenger Confidence.
The user flow of SkyFI was further mapped, encircling all the interactions required between the user and the interface to be able to engage with the service and to experience infotainment.
Post the setting up of the interface according to user preferences, the application requires certain external interactions to be made such as the switching on of the ‘airplane mode’ on the mobile phone and then activating the Wi-Fi to connect to the In-Flight WLAN setup for SkyFI. Post this the user enters the Activation Code (provided by the cabin crew while onboarding), to further enter SkyFI, having completed the 3-step setup.
The avenues now become open for the user to make use of the in-flight services, acquire the necessary information and get immersed in a myriad of captivating entertainment formats, through SkyFI.
A Service-Based Setup
SkyFI is a third-party service provider, laying out the service of In-Flight Infotainment to airlines in the Indian airspace. The very foundation of the service lies in developing an interconnected and inter-beneficial ecosystem, engaging with a range of potential clientele such as IndiGo, Air India, GoAir, and several other economic airlines in the country, that have faced a void in the prospect of providing high quality yet affordable IFI to the customers availing their domestic flights. SkyFI aims to serve as the bridge to this gap.
1. MySky
Get quick access to real-time information and updates about your flight, at the tip of your fingers. Stay informed about the status of your trip via the simple and intuitive trip tracker, and get access to the information about the SOP’s related to handling emergency situations on the flight, and about safeguarding oneself from COVID implications while traveling, using the contactless Sky Guides that make information entertaining, inclusive and safe. Also avail In-Flight services such as food ordering, onboard retail, exclusive theme-based travel packages and more, with just a few clicks. A hub of all the information and services you may need when onboard, right by your side every second of the trip.
2. Watch
Choose from a range of handpicked movies, TV Shows, cartoons, and news, or enter “Rangmanch” to experience the magic of Indian culture through visual spectacles such as folk dance, puppet shows, festive celebrations, and more. Explore your destination through the movies, shows, and artforms celebrating its culture, and make your flight a part of the journey itself. Watch the magic of Indian culture unfold through its heritage, art, and beauty.
3. Listen
Choose from a myriad of music, carefully selected and curated into a genre or language-based playlists, owing to the diverse yet significant language preferences that the users may have, or spend your time engrossed in podcasts on universal topics such as success, adventure, spirituality, and more. Tune into “Sur” to explore the voices of India through its folk music or into “Kahaani” to listen to the inspiring stories behind our art, artists, and their journeys. Open your ears to the voice of the heartland.
4. Play
Experience community gaming like never before. Immerse yourself into captivating experiences as you battle it out within the In-Flight Community, in an adrenaline-packed library of spectacular competitive games to choose from. Win or lose, what matters is the memories you make and the community you become part of, through the shared journey.
5. Favorites
A personal travelogue of journey-based playlists, based on the favorites you add within an in-flight session, all contributing to a memory bank for you to relive, every time you’re on board. A self-curated playlist of personalized nostalgia for every journey.
Celebrating India
SkyFI harbors creatively curated entertainment from the Folk Artists of India, creating an ecosystem that allows for affordable content harnessing, while providing the art form and the artists with an incentive, further allowing them magnified exposure to a massive audience. This by extension also increases domestic tourism by generating interest and cultivating curiosity towards the diverse culture of different regions across the country. Altogether an interconnected and symbiotic service is created amplifying growth for each stakeholder involved, while also complimenting the curation of enriching content that celebrates India.
Language Fluidity
SkyFI allows for language fluidity, allowing the users to interact with the interface in their preferred choice of language, which can be chosen from an ever-evolving language bank encompassing diverse regional languages from India, along with a myriad of languages from all across the world, with the default being whichever preference has been set in the device’s operating system by the user. This fluidity further extends itself into the consumption of the content as well, allowing for the option to enable subtitles or closed captioning in a variety of languages. The content bank altogether is made sure to be inclusive of entertainment representing a variety of cultures, allowing for a multitude of regional entertainment available as well, represented in their native language and further made more accessible via respective translations.
Dark Mode
Toggle to the Dark Mode for a congenial viewing experience even when the cabin lights are switched off, for a strain-free session, comfortable to the eyes in situations with low ambient lighting. Merging accessibility with comfort, every hour of the journey.
Build a Community
Engage with the in-flight community through the SkyChat, allowing for a socially interactive setup without compromising on the need for social distancing. Share you journey with others onboard, and embrace your togetherness through virtual community building.
One for All
SkyFI embraces an adaptive UI that adapts to the brand identity of the airline that is engaged in providing the service, allowing for the interface to camouflage into the color scheme of the airline itself. While the initiation for the interface remains to be the primary splash screen, with SkyFI’s logo, once the service is activated, the interface acclimatizes to the brand identity of the airline whose WLAN it’s connected to. This allows for the service to be used as a brand differentiation asset, while also serving its purpose of providing In-Flight Entertainment to the customers. Merging boundaries, crossing borders- with you in all your journeys.
Interact with SkyFI:
Click on either of the two buttons below to explore the interactive prototypes for SkyFI's adaptive user interface designed for the 2 cases of IndiGo Airlines and Air India respectively.
SkyFI's Interactive Prototype(s)
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Looking Back
‘SkyFI’ has been an entire journey for me, with several ups and downs through the escapade- being a milestone nonetheless. The project has allowed me a deep dive into the gap between entertainment and information, providing me as an innovator- a chance to fulfill the void through creative problem-solving and solution building for the new normal, with a more holistic perspective.
Thank you for being there and sharing this journey with me. But this was just another chapter…
Welcome aboard!