United Airlines Airshop: aviation innovation and immersion center

The Airshop innovation center United Airlines has an immersive theater, with 270º projection mapping, Life-size 3D interactive content and training areas, which is used for both public demonstrations and internal development.

Opened a few months ago in Arlington Heights (Illinois – EE.), Airshop is a center of innovation about the world of aviation United Airlines, in whose development he has worked with the immersive experiences agency Next/Now, with the visionary Mark Chowaniec in front.

“Our immersive experience reinvents what is possible in aviation innovation,” explains Chowaniec., through stunning visual storytelling, map projections and multiple modes of interactive content. Created with innovation and adaptability in mind, “We have developed a center that evolves along with the needs of the center as a whole”.

Next/Now had previously worked with United Airlines on large-scale digital content projects, like in the lobby Denver Airport from the airline, with an animated check-in experience showcasing Colorado landscapes, as well as in the creation of experience centers for companies such as Accenture y Philips.

The Airshop innovation center is an operational laboratory, both for public demonstrations as well as for internal development, for which it has specific areas to test new concepts, physical and digital, advanced 3D printing and other initiatives in the aviation environment.

The core of this installation is a immersive theater, in which three powerful laser equipment Sharp/NEC perform projection mapping on three walls to display the contents, that synchronize with the 3D audio system, Advanced visualization of existing and future airport environments.

This immersive theater is also used to perform immersive presentations, real-time collaboration and for 3D training modules 1:1 life size.

As pointed out Alan Hughes, founder and creative director of Next/Now, “United Airlines had a very clear concept: create a space, and work laboratory, that embodied and enabled innovation and collaboration throughout the company. Although they were already focused on the same, “They saw the benefits of coming together around a team and a dedicated space to facilitate the energy of their thinking.”.

Visitors can easily control and change images using a tablet and the Activate360 customizable content management de Next/Now, a software designed for complex AV systems that include Large-scale LED and multi-projector screens, ultra-high pixel video and data display content and motion and gesture control.

“The biggest challenge we faced was the sheer ambition of the immersion room,” says Hughes.. It was key to integrate metaverse images, volumetric scans of existing airports, advanced video playback, “Data visualization and collaboration tools in one easy-to-use system”.

Hughes highlights the work of “our UI/UX team to design not only the interface elements but also the user experience of the room, which allowed us to design and test long before starting programming. The end result is a powerful tool that is easy and fun to use.”.