JAL accelerates staff learning with HoloLens

Source: Microsoft blog post; photo courtesy of JAL. What a trainee might see of the interior of a plane with the HoloLens.

Using the Microsoft HoloLens, Japan Airlines (JAL) has developed two proof-of-concept programmes to provide supplemental training for engine mechanics, and for flight crew trainees who want to be promoted to co-pilot status.

“We believe that HoloLens can contribute to the safety of our business, which is the most important criteria for airlines,” says Koji Hayamizu, Senior Director of the planning group for JAL’s Products & Service Administration Department.

Microsoft HoloLens is a fully untethered holographic computer powered by Windows 10. It blends 3D holographic content into the physical world, allowing users to interact with both digital content and the world around them. No wires, phones or PC connections are required.

Currently, flight crew trainees working on career promotion use panels that display photos of cockpit instruments and switches to learn operational procedures in the early stages of their training. Using HoloLens, they will have a detailed hologram in front of their eyes that will display cockpit devices and switches that they can operate themselves, with visual and voice guidance provided through HoloLens.

The HoloLens provides on-the-spot training anytime, unlike hands-on training. For mechanics, training in person often means waiting for an appointment, or an available location when a plane is in the hangar for maintenance. The logistics for hands-on training also include complex activities like removing the engine’s cover, known as a cowling, to get to the engine itself, Hayamizu says.

With HoloLens, “the engine looks real, in front of you,” he says. “Mechanics can learn an engine structure by extracting important parts with the simulation,” learning names of parts and studying the structure of engines and surrounding systems, regardless of location or time of day.

So far, JAL has received positive feedback about the HoloLens training prototypes from flight crews and mechanics. At some point, Hayamizu says, it may even be “possible for us to bring a whole aircraft into the classroom” using HoloLens.

“We believe HoloLens has advantages and potential,” he says. “The more I learn, the more I believe that we can utilise the characteristics of HoloLens for the unprecedented customer experience, not just focusing on the internal purposes such as training.”

JAL’s partnership with Microsoft, and the use of HoloLens, will give the airline an edge, Hayamizu says, something that is critical because the airline industry is such a “very competitive environment,” especially with low-cost carriers expanding their share of the market.

posted from Bloggeroid