BMW Design Works worked together with Thales – a world leader in in-flight entertainment and connectivity – to create the all-new Immersive Business Class Seat. The seat, developed in conjunction with BE Aerospace, was unveiled on the opening day of the recent Aircraft Interiors Expo 2014 in Hamburg, and has quickly gone on to be a finalist for the Premium Class & VIP category at the 2014 Crystal Cabin Awards (the only international prize for innovations in the field of aircraft cabins).
The Immersive Business Class Seat presents advanced technological innovations like touchpad controls integrated in the seat, Ultra-High Definition (UHD) main display screen, Passenger Control Display, Eye Tracking and Interactive Virtual Landscape Panel. These innovations cleverly interface with the seat, to work in concert with products already on offer by Thales and third parties. These include the Thales SmartPIMs which allow passengers to interface their portable electronic devices with the IFE system, and Smart Device Ignition Wireless Charging.
The seat is an innovation which represents a breakthrough which incorporates an aesthetically pleasing industrial design, visionary IFE concepts and viable products, ultimately blending the physical and virtual user interfaces into a seamless passenger experience.