Video: Emirates’ new amenity kits with augmented reality

Dubai airline Emirates recently introduced augmented reality (AR)- equipped amenity kits for economy class passengers on long haul flights – claimed as a first worldwide.

The kits use AR technology to enable passengers to unlock content on their mobile devices.

The content has been created in collaboration with Blippar, an AR and visual discovery platform, and passengers need to download the Blippar mobile phone app to experience the interactivity.

The new-look kits have also been redesigned to represent six different regions including Australasia, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Far East.

The designs incorporate the colours and patterns of each of these regions and the Middle East design features Arabic calligraphy by UAE-based artist Tagelsir Hassan.

The pouches are made of Neoprene material – a water resistant fabric and include an eye mask, earplugs, toothbrush and toothpaste, and socks – designed according to the different kits.

Gulf Business reviewed the kits and the first look and feel was great (we initially assumed they were for business class passengers).

In terms of the AR experience, downloading the Blippar app (available for free on the Apple Store or Google Play) is fairly straightforward. Pointing the app at the kit, we struggled a bit to get the angle right since the app also identifies thousands of objects (from prints, designs and laptops to clothing).

However once it recognises the Emirates kit, the process is fairly quick and soon you have a 3D model on your phone with a globe in the centre, a tiny Emirates plane flying around it. Surrounding it are options for music, colouring, relaxation and access to the Emirates app.

Here’s a video of our AR experience (story continues below) –

The colouring tool will surely be a hit with the children, with its various animals and shades bound to keep them busy for sometime. The music tool – which includes sounds from the six regions mentioned earlier, features relaxing sounds of birds, winds and waves among others. However, there are no songs – so you will have to stick to ICE Entertainment to enjoy your playlist.

The relaxation tool basically gives you tips about how to plan for your journey and is based on the objects that are in the kit.

You can also access the Emirates app or provide feedback about your experience.

Overall, the kits themselves are really nice to look at and can certainly be reused after the flight. The AR experience is also an interesting way to pass some time on those ultra long haul flights where you may twiddling your thumbs and wondering how the hours will pass.

According to Emirates, the content will also be refreshed every six months, so frequent fliers will have something new to play with.

The amenity kits are available on selected long-haul routes and on all ultra-long haul services.