Latest Panasonic technology shows Minority Report-style gesture control to be old news

With interiors innovations seemingly having gone as far as is currently possible in creating more cabin space through redesigning physical fittings such as storage lockers and seating, it appears the only way to increase it further is virtually.

A research and design demonstration from Panasonic demonstrating the possibilities offered by integrating, eye tracking, gesture control and voice command into an IFE interface, shows the extent to which a passenger's environment can be enlarged electronically.

This is done both physically, by eliminating the need for physical controls, and virtually by allowing passengers to explore virtual environments, both real and artificial.

The user is able to navigate these digital landscapes simply by looking at different parts of the screen as their eyes are tracked by camera. The IFE system provider's demonstration model at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2012 in Hamburg allowed users to roam around a variety of settings such as their arrival airport and city, views from around the aircraft or a virtual meadow.

"As airlines try to cram more passengers on-board, how do you create that feeling of space," said Panasonic Avionics' corporate communications manager Brian Bardwell.

He sees the system as moving IFE "way beyond entertainment, this is a business platform". Explaining some of its potential for business applications, he says that passengers can virtually browse commercial premises in their arrival destinations before they've landed.

Bardwell says the system requires 30-40 cm of distance between the user's face and the screen to operate and can be installed in screens as small as 9-inches. While no launch date has yet been announced for a gesture controlled IFE product, he says "we're really shocked by how positively the airlines have reacted to it and we'll be releasing it as soon as possible. "The technology's available now so this should easily be available [onboard aircraft] within two years," he says.

It is intended to be part of an complete IFE system which could include gesture recognition, voice control and seat vibration.

Panasonic's eye tracking system has a distinct in-flight advantage over other gesture controlled devices, controlled in the manner of Tom Cruise's computer in the film Minority Report, to which it seems compulsory to make reference when writing about gesture control.

Accurately controlled using tidy movements of the eye, the system does not require dramatic gesticulation of arms, which when in closely confined economy seating could increase a feeling of confinement rather than reduce it.