RWV year in review: Top travel tech trends of 2015
The old adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same" just didn't apply at all to the year in travel technology, where the pace of change is only accelerating faster than ever. From drones to holograms, these were the top tech trends of 2015.
Biometrics. No longer limited to sci-fi fantasy flicks, biometrics spent 2015 cementing their place in the travel world. Alaska Airlines began experimenting with boarding passes keyed to your iris and fingerprints, an Indian airport switched to biometric boarding for all of its airlines, and Japan began transitioning an entire country's worth of international airports to the fancy new tech.
But ah ah ahhh, a survey at the year's end indicated that less than half of Americans trusted airlines with all of this personal biometric data. Will the passing of time ease passenger anxiety about biometrics? We'll find out...eventually.
Drones. Drones were the clear rascal of 2015's technological wave of change. Their value to society was almost entirely washed out by their penchant for ending up in the news after, ohhh, say, exacerbating a California wildfire, nearly causing plane crash after plane crash and forcing 20 flights to be redirected, to name a few incidents.
Still, it wasn't all bad news for drones this year. All of that ruckus resulted in some landmark legislation that would require drone owners — rather than the drones themselves — to be registered with the government.
Holograms. A trio of Tensator Virtual Assistants took the terminals of Glasgow Airport by storm this year, along with airports in Miami, Madrid, London and Dubai. These holographic assistants relieved TSA agents of their duties at the beginning of the airport security line, informing the incoming masses how to proceed through the checkpoint ahead.
They speak any language imaginable, never need to get off of their feet for a few moments, and can speak for 24 hours straight without pausing for a glass of water and a throat lozenge. If you think that these hologram helpers aren't eventually headed to an airport near you, think again.
3D Printing. The great democratizer of the year's tech trends, 3D printing went equal distance in opposite directions, offering us incredible highs and comical lows.
For every story of a $36 Million plane being repaired with $300 worth of 3D-printed plastic, there was also a story of a 3D-printed latte. For every 3D-printed revolutionary aircraft cabin wall based on human bone structure, a 3D printed hot tub. But hey, at least that hot tub was attached to a hotel room — as in the world's first 3D printed hotel suite.
Smart uniforms. EasyJet broke with the past in a big way in 2015, switching out flight attendants' sensible slacks, scarves and jackets for an Iron Man-esque new collection of smart uniforms laced with futuristic technology. CuteCircuit, known for dressing Katy Perry and U2 while on tour, has outfitted easyJet's cabin crew with new uniforms that are dripping in LEDs.
The lights display gate information and illuminate the cabin in the event of an emergency, while cameras, air quality sensors, and a barometer provide data to the pilot — who, by the way, is able to communicate with the cabin via embedded microphones in the new uniforms as well. What's so smart about these uniforms? How about everything.
But easyJet wasn't the only one to get in on the tech threads game this year. Smart jackets, belts and even jeans flooded the commercial market, capable to juicing up your phone without slowing your stride. Oh, and don't forget about smart scarves and hats too. Basically, if you can wear it on your body, there was a smart version of it in 2015.
Self-driving cars. With Uber, Google, Apple, Tesla, BMW and Mercedes-Benz all making waves in 2015 with their respective self-driving car initiatives, the question wasn't who was working on a driverless car, but rather, who wasn't.
In 2015, cities deployed driverless buses, manufacturers got into the self-driving limousine industry and even built a humanless town just for the study of autonomous vehicles. We learned how driverless cars "see" and exactly how much humans are to blame in all self-driving car accidents (Spoiler: entirely!).
On-demand everything. Uber entered a slew of new market spaces in 2015, launching new services in select cities across the country. UberHealth brought on-demand flu shots to users in 36 cities, UberRush picked up the dry cleaning and groceries for between $5 and $7, UberReturns made the trip to the post office for you, and UberEats took care of fetching your takeout.
And if you're sensing the hole in the market unfilled by Uber that I am, you'll be relieved to learn that across the pond a company called Gett began Veuve Clicquot champagne delivery service. Phew!
But if hailing something on four wheels wasn't going to tickle your fancy in 2015, a slew of on-demand private jet and helicopter companies emerged, jockeying for territory in a surprisingly crowded new space.
Photo: Angie Garrett
Pay phones??? And the top tech story of the year award goes to...(drumroll please)...Dayton, Ohio's reinstallation of public pay phones. The thinking goes that while we all own cellphones nowadays, batteries die. Truth! Hilariously, each phone comes equipped with a video monitor displaying instructions on how to use a public phone, as an entire generation has now grown up without ever seeing them out in the urban wild. Now if only the residents of Dayton, Ohio had actually written down even one single phone number before their phone died...