Recently, the "AIoT based Anti Violence Luggage Loading and Unloading Wearable Device Project" jointly developed by China Eastern Airlines R&D Center and China Eastern Airlines Ground Service Department stood out among 822 innovative application projects and successfully advanced to the 4th Central Enterprise Yixing Innovation and Creativity Competition. This project is also the only innovative application project of China Eastern Airlines Group that has successfully advanced to the on-site roadshow through the initial and final selection of the Yixing Competition, and has received unanimous praise from industry experts.

Intelligent wearable device is the result of continuous integration and innovation of Internet of Things technology, mobile Internet, cloud storage technology and big data technology. It has the basic characteristics of wearability, mobility, interactivity, etc. In today's rapidly developing technology, smart wearable devices have become a representative of the combination of technology and fashion trends, quietly changing our work and lifestyle with their unique charm. For this cutting-edge technology, the civil aviation industry is naturally not absent. Wearable devices such as smart bracelets and smart glasses have emerged one after another, bringing new visual experiences and application sensations to the daily work of frontline employees and the air travel of civil aviation passengers.

Wearable devices are widely used in frontline work scenarios in civil aviation

Anti violence luggage loading and unloading smart wristband

Ensure the safe arrival of 'silent passengers'

Some passengers have had a similar experience: they were looking forward to traveling by plane, but when they got off the plane to collect their checked baggage, they found that their luggage was damaged. Some people even witnessed individual baggage handlers handling luggage with ease during boarding. In such a situation, the passenger's mood must be very bad.

Whenever there is a violent loading and unloading problem, many passengers attribute it to the improper operation of luggage loading and unloading staff, resulting in the damage of passengers' luggage. But from the perspective of the loading and unloading staff, this may be an unavoidable challenge. According to a staff member from China Eastern Airlines, "Taking the data from Pudong Airport in 2019 as an example, the daily average number of inbound and outbound luggage at Pudong Airport is over 60000, and each loading and unloading worker has to carry over 500 pieces of luggage on average every day. High intensity physical labor can easily lead to non-standard handling operations, such as accidentally dropping and bumping luggage, excessive force, etc. It can be said that how to avoid violent loading and unloading of luggage is not only a problem faced by a certain airline, but also a common problem in the world's civil aviation industry.

China Eastern Airlines has always regarded luggage as a 'silent passenger'. In order to transport this' silent passenger 'more safely and reduce the losses caused by damaged luggage, the R&D center of China Eastern Airlines and the ground service department of China Eastern Airlines jointly developed an AIoT based anti violent luggage loading and unloading smart wristband.

Luggage handlers wear anti violence smart wristbands for handling luggage

This wristband is an intelligent product developed based on China Eastern Airlines' big data for luggage sorting and loading and unloading, suitable for frontline production and operation scenarios. It consists of a hardware system and a software system. The former includes various structural devices such as sensor systems, positioning systems, battery systems, display systems, etc., while the latter includes a monitoring and analysis platform including mobile terminals and backend management terminals.

Among them, acceleration sensors and gyroscope sensors mainly play a role in monitoring the movement direction, acceleration force, and arm swing amplitude of loading and unloading employees, and identifying luggage sorting and loading and unloading actions. When equipment monitoring detects abnormal movements of loading and unloading personnel, sensors will send real-time instructions to the electric motor and screen, causing the equipment to vibrate and the screen to flash, reminding unauthorized loading and unloading personnel to stop violent sorting and loading and unloading of luggage, and pay attention to protecting luggage safety.

Optical heart rate sensors are used to monitor the heart rate of loading and unloading employees. By receiving the light reflected back from the skin tissue of the loading and unloading staff, the optical heart rate sensor converts it into electrical and digital signals, and finally calculates the real-time heart rate of the loading and unloading staff based on the absorbance of the blood. When the heart rate of the loading and unloading staff is abnormal, the smart wristband will send emergency signals to the backend and nearby smart wristbands to provide immediate medical assistance and ensure their safety.

At present, we have produced 150 sets of equipment and put them into use at the Hongqiao loading and unloading site. After trial operation throughout 2023, compared with the data in 2019, the omnichannel luggage complaint rate in Hongqiao area has decreased by 50.33%, and the number of damaged luggage cases at China Eastern Airlines Hongqiao Airport has decreased by 45.26%. It can be said that small equipment has achieved great results, "said the relevant staff of China Eastern Airlines.

AR smart glasses

Bring more flying fun

Have you ever seen a cloud based 3D cinema? What is the immersive experience of watching 3D movies at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters?

On February 7th of this year, on the Hainan Airlines HU7874 flight from Shenzhen to Xi'an, some passengers were pleasantly surprised to find a special pair of glasses in their seats. Wearing them, they could immerse themselves in watching multiple 3D movies and enjoy the entertainment experience of a 360 inch frameless screen, 1080P resolution, and 120HZ refresh rate, as if they were in a private giant screen screening hall.

It is reported that this is the "Rokid's first AR flight" jointly created by Hainan Airlines and domestic AR smart glasses manufacturer Rokid. The flight is equipped with dozens of Rokid produced AR entertainment sets, as well as multiple 3D offline videos that have been downloaded locally. Passengers can roam the AR video and audio world during the flight. During the flight, the flight attendant introduced the AR glasses entertainment kit equipped on board and its usage to the passengers. Wearing AR glasses, the passenger was pleasantly surprised to find a huge screen in front of them, and the viewing experience was like being in a movie theater in the real world.

Hainan Airlines Spring Day Limited AR Theme Flights

It is reported that the AR glasses equipped by Hainan Airlines this time are designed with lightweight and comfortable materials, weighing only 75 grams. The host has a battery life of up to 5 hours and can accommodate viewers to watch 3 complete movies. In terms of audio and visual aspects, it adopts dual near ear directional speakers with good sound insulation effect, which will not disturb others around it at all, and can also bring passengers a cinema level audio and visual enjoyment.

With the continuous improvement of infrastructure such as 5G networks and cloud computing, AR glasses and related technologies will continue to expand new application scenarios on flights, such as real-time interactive games, virtual tours, and cabin facility introductions, making every flight full of surprises and expectations for passengers.

AR glasses have already been put into use in the field of civil aviation ground services, in addition to being able to "fly into the sky". AR smart glasses can be seen everywhere in the passenger information intelligent verification system at Beijing Daxing International Airport, the maintenance base of China Southern Airlines, the travel inspection site of customs officers at Hohhot Baita Airport, and the police mission at Wenzhou Longwan International Airport. Under its influence, new changes are constantly occurring in the way passengers relax in the air and in the business operations of airlines.

MR Flight Learning Tools

Experience the lifelike mixed reality world

MR technology, also known as Mixed Reality technology, is a technology that combines virtual information with the real world. It allows users to interact with virtual objects in a real environment, bringing a completely new user experience. Currently, MR technology is widely used in various fields such as gaming, education, healthcare, and civil aviation.

Flight is a very complex system control engineering in the civil aviation industry, and pilots are at the top of this system engineering, serving as the final gatekeeper of safe flight. In order to help flight trainees grasp aircraft system knowledge more intuitively, three dimensionally, and realistically, an innovative immersive learning tool - MR Flight Learning Tool - has emerged. This Boeing 737 engine and fuel/hydraulic flight control system learning software developed by China Eastern Airlines using MRHoloLens and MagicLeap glasses as carriers has been applied in the pilot training program of China Eastern Airlines.

Students wearing MR flight learning aids can instantly enter the virtual world

This set of MR flight learning aids allows students to wear them at any time and immediately enter the virtual world. Flight trainees only need to wear it, and the plane will be vividly displayed in front of them. They can reach out and access the cockpit panel, click on proportional virtual switches, and simulate pilots handling various special situations based on checklists.

It is worth mentioning that the Eastern Airlines MR flight learning aids were showcased at the China Brand Day event held in May 2023, attracting many viewers to stop and watch. At the exhibition site, the audience wears MR equipment and simulates starting the engine and controlling components such as elevators and rudders by touching the panels and handles inside the cockpit through "remote touch".

With the help of holographic imaging technology, viewers and flight trainees can intuitively see the real changes that occur in the system components of the aircraft when they manipulate the joystick and panel. For example, when the audience and students "lift" the engine handle, they will see the flow of fuel in the pipeline and the process of engine starting and blade rotation; When manipulating the "steering wheel", one can also see the transmission of steel cables, the movement of hydraulic driven control surfaces, and changes in the aircraft's flight status.

Accessible smart wearable devices

More considerate service for special travelers

It looks like a cervical massager, but in fact, it can intelligently assist special passengers with hearing impairment, visual impairment, and limited mobility in indoor travel through vibration reminders and other methods. After arriving at the airport, visually impaired and other special passengers can wear this intelligent neck pillow device for navigation and receive information consultation services.

This is an airport intelligent barrier free assistance system developed by the Second Research Institute of the Civil Aviation Administration of China to meet the independent travel needs of special passengers with visual and hearing impairments. The system consists of wearable intelligent equipment, multi interaction robots, and an airport accessible comprehensive information service platform. Among them, wearable smart devices include shoulder mounted positioning and navigation terminals, bone conduction headphones, AR glasses, and computing terminals.

By wearing this device on their shoulders and necks, special passengers can achieve precise positioning for travel within the terminal, accurately grasp obstacles within a range of 1 to 3 meters, and timely obtain intelligent obstacle avoidance strategy analysis, thereby safely avoiding obstacles. When turning or encountering obstacles ahead, the device will use vibration motors on both sides to provide graded vibration reminders to the shoulders and necks of special passengers. In addition, shoulder mounted positioning and navigation terminals need to be used in conjunction with bone conduction headphones, AR glasses, and computing terminals. Bone conduction headphones can provide voice prompts for air travel information such as navigation, flights, security checks, and boarding gates for visually impaired passengers. AR glasses can provide visual or textual prompts for air travel information such as navigation, flights, boarding gates, etc. for hearing-impaired passengers. At the same time, the computing terminal is equipped with an auxiliary APP, which allows disabled passengers to interact with it through touch screens or voice commands, and obtain information such as airport maps, flight information, and navigation routes.

During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, the system will be put into use at the Capital Airport to provide travel security services for disabled passengers, achieving the first application of intelligent accessibility service guarantee technology in domestic airports and filling the gap in the application of wearable intelligent interactive equipment in airport accessibility services.

Audience experience MR equipment

As a product of modern technology, wearable devices have always been highly regarded and have great potential for development. With the rapid development of the civil aviation industry, it can be expected that smart wearable devices will bring more convenience and fun to passengers' travel, demonstrating broader application prospects. (Zhang Zhihan, reporter from China Civil Aviation News)