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Editor’s Note: We are publishing a five-part weekly series on the Future of Air Travel. For this exclusive series, SimpliFlying consultants have been interacting with leading thinkers and futurists and tapping their valuable insights. This is the third interview of our series. (Read Part 1 and Part 2.)
Yuri van Geest is an expert on Singularity, that deals with the convergence and symbiosis of ICT, biotech, nanotech, neuro tech, robotics, artificial intelligence and space travel. He is also the Managing Director at Singularity University Summit in Europe and an acclaimed author. We sat down with him to get a peek into the future from his perspective.
Going Glocal
Straight off the bat, Yuri notes how global airlines have a big opportunity in front of them to go local, by offering personalized retail services, just like Uber and airbnb. He also talks about the exciting scope airlines have right now to offer and book additional services to passengers during flight time, especially on medium-haul to long-haul services. Compressing activities like medical diagnostics, leisure trips and even printing photographs can be some of the offered opportunities.
Yuri moves on to the three key technologies for the future of airlines and tells us four of them in fact, talking about Robotics, Big Data, Biotechnology and Nanotechnology.
Robotics and Big Data
These two path-breaking technologies can be synchronised to get even better results: to lower costs for airlines and more importantly, to use the power of data to optimise and then enhance the overall customer experience. Big Data has really been a recurring theme in our “Future of Air Travel” series, with Simon Torrance also giving it a honorable mention earlier.
Biotechnology and Nanotechnology
According to Yuri, Biotech can be effectively used for diagnostics, while Nanotech can make our aircraft of the future stronger, lighter and more efficient. Graphene as a material is 100 times stronger than steel, while being 6 times lighter, leading to safer and robust aircraft.
Some of the highlights of the interview:
- Biggest opportunities for Airlines [0:34]
- How can Airlines turn flight time into active time [1:06]
- 3 biggest technologies for the future of Airlines [1:56]
Which technologies will play an important role for the future of Airlines? Tell us in the comments below.