WEBVTT - Are Windowless Airplanes the Future of Flight?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from how Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vog obam here. When commercial air travel first started

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<v Speaker 1>to catch on in the nineteen thirties, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>big attractions for passengers was the chance to stare out

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<v Speaker 1>the window at the landscape from a startlingly new perspective

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<v Speaker 1>high above it. Of course, many of us still like

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<v Speaker 1>to gaze out in wonder from those little portals. A

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<v Speaker 1>survey by Quarts in fourteen found that more than half

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<v Speaker 1>of Americans prefer having a window seat on an airline,

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<v Speaker 1>though people who fly more than once a year are

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<v Speaker 1>more evenly split between window and aisle seats. That's why

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<v Speaker 1>you may be surprised to learn that for decades, aircraft

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<v Speaker 1>designers have been contemplating planes with video screens instead of

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<v Speaker 1>passenger windows. Back in the mid nineteen nineties, NASA actually

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<v Speaker 1>built and flew an experimental Boeing seven thirty seven with

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<v Speaker 1>a windowless cockpit equipped with digital and infrared cameras and

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<v Speaker 1>video monitors, and in the UK based Center for Process

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<v Speaker 1>Innovation unveiled a design for a windowless airliner in which

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<v Speaker 1>the entire interior of the cabin would be lined with thin,

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<v Speaker 1>flexible high definition video screens that would provide lighting and

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<v Speaker 1>entertainment as well as a more expansive view of the outside,

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<v Speaker 1>but concept has been put into practice. Last April, Dubai

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<v Speaker 1>based airline Emirates debuted Boeing seven seventy seven's with enclosed

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<v Speaker 1>private suites equipped with virtual windows to provide a view

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<v Speaker 1>of the outside from the middle of the plane. We

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<v Speaker 1>spoke via email with Jerome de Mare, and Emirates public

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<v Speaker 1>relations official. He said the virtual windows were installed for

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<v Speaker 1>first class suites located in the middle aisle as they

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<v Speaker 1>are fully enclosed suites with floored ceiling doors and passengers

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<v Speaker 1>would not be able to view the windows on these

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<v Speaker 1>sides of the aircraft. We asked him how they worked

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<v Speaker 1>and he explained these virtual windows project the view from

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<v Speaker 1>outside the aircraft using real time camera technology. The cameras

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<v Speaker 1>are placed in strategic locations to offer passengers a real

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<v Speaker 1>time view outside the aircraft. The actual view is determined

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<v Speaker 1>by which side of the aircraft the entrance to the

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<v Speaker 1>suite is right or left, and that is the view

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<v Speaker 1>that will appear in the center suites. The cameras are

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<v Speaker 1>high resolution devices which offer a very clear, wide view

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<v Speaker 1>of the outside the virtual window provides a sharp, clear,

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<v Speaker 1>realistic view of what's outside. Anecdotally, passengers have told us

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<v Speaker 1>that they prefer the view to that of real windows.

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<v Speaker 1>In a BBC News article, Emirates President Sir Tim Clark

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<v Speaker 1>was quoted about the future possibility of planes without windows,

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<v Speaker 1>but Demyer said that there are no current plans for

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<v Speaker 1>a windowless airliner. However, at least one aircraft manufacturer does

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<v Speaker 1>aim to go windowless on a smaller scale. For the

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<v Speaker 1>past several years, a privately owned Boston based company, Spike Aerospace,

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<v Speaker 1>has been working to develop the Spikes five, twelve and

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<v Speaker 1>eighteen passengers supersonic business jet, packed with technology that will

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<v Speaker 1>enable it to cut travel times significantly without excess fuel

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<v Speaker 1>consumption or loud sonic booms, and will do all of

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<v Speaker 1>that without passenger windows. The aircraft's design will include what

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<v Speaker 1>Spike Airspace calls a multiplex digital cabin. Instead of gazing

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<v Speaker 1>through the usual small portal windows, passengers will be able

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<v Speaker 1>to watch a pair of twenty foot long that's six

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<v Speaker 1>meter digital video screens that will stretch the length of

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<v Speaker 1>the cabin on either side of the aircraft. Multiple high

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<v Speaker 1>definition cameras mounted on the exterior of the plane will

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<v Speaker 1>provide four K video, which computers and the aircraft will

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<v Speaker 1>stitch together using special software developed by the company. We

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<v Speaker 1>spoke with Spike Airspace President and chief executive Officer Vic Cachoria,

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<v Speaker 1>who explained, whatever image you want to see can be displayed.

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<v Speaker 1>You can see left or right, in front of the

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<v Speaker 1>plane or behind it, looking down or up into the sky.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a more panoramic view than the very limited view

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<v Speaker 1>that you can see out of a porthole window. Eliminating

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<v Speaker 1>conventional acrylic glass windows from an aircraft could have other

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<v Speaker 1>advantages as well. It would insulate the fuselage, making it

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<v Speaker 1>possible to reduce noise from the engines. It would also

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<v Speaker 1>strengthen the aircraft and make it safer. Some serious engineering

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<v Speaker 1>goes into making those windows sturdy enough to withstand the

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<v Speaker 1>stresses of flight, and besides providing a more expansive view,

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<v Speaker 1>such a video system could also utilize geolocation and display

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<v Speaker 1>augmented reality data about the landscape that the plane is

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<v Speaker 1>flying over, or Passengers might be able to choose from

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<v Speaker 1>other content a display movies, for example, or a power

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<v Speaker 1>point presentation. The aircraft's pilots would still have a conventional

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<v Speaker 1>window in the cockpit, along with some of that advanced

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<v Speaker 1>video technology. Cutoria says that Spike Airspace has several more

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<v Speaker 1>years of engineering to complete on their aircraft and then

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<v Speaker 1>has to go through the testing and certification process. He

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<v Speaker 1>envisions delivering the first jet without conventional passenger windows. In Initially,

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<v Speaker 1>only corporate executives and people wealthy enough to afford a

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<v Speaker 1>private jet would be able to experience Spike Airspaces windowless flights,

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<v Speaker 1>but Catoria expects that the innovative technology eventually will find

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<v Speaker 1>its way into regular airliners as well. Today's episode was

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<v Speaker 1>written by Patrick Jake Tiger and produce by Tyler Clay.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of I Heart Radios How

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