SIA-NUS lab launched to help improve passenger sleep on long-haul flights

Passengers on Singapore Airlines flights can look forward to more restful trips in future, should a newly created lab succeed in its research. Over the next few years, SIA and researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) will work together to study the optimal time to wake up flight passengers for meals, among other initiatives. This could even pave the way for personalised meal times based on the individual passenger's sleep cycle. This redefining of passenger air travel experience is among key objectives the SIA-NUS Digital Aviation Corporate Laboratory will seek to achieve. The research facility was launched on Monday. It cost S$45m and was jointly set up by SIA and NUS, and is supported by the National Research Foundation. A mock-up cabin that can simulate in-flight air conditions has been set up at the facility, such that research on how passengers rest during flights can be carried out accurately. The mock-up includes both business and economy class seats. Participants to be recruited for an upcoming research study at the lab will stay in the cabin for six hours or more, as they would during long-haul flights. Various sensors installed in the cabin will track their facial expression, heart rate, posture and sleep stages. The new lab will also aim to improve pilot and cabin crew training through technology. To this end, a cockpit simulator has been set up at the facility to develop a new augmented reality/virtual reality training system for pilots. If successful, the new system will allow pilots to refresh their skills even from their homes and reduce their dependence on training simulators, which are both expensive and not many in number.<br/>