Superdrive Creates World First In-flight Augmented Reality “Okinawa no Takara” (Okinawa Treasure) for JTA

Statistics pointed to the fact that in-flight experiences were one of the least memorable parts of vacation time – making Airline selection criteria more about scheduling, comfort and price. Research also showed a direct correlation between ‘positive trip experience’ recall and ‘pre-arrival destination anticipation’ levels. Basically – the more excited you were before arriving, the more often the destination itself was also memorable. So, what better place to build excitement ahead of the destination, than the flight itself!

A culture rich in tradition

Beyond the natural beauty of Okinawa, it also has a rich tradition and culture that has been passed down from generation to generation. We sought to bring the culture and stories of Okinawa to life in a contemporary approach that would resonate with youth from the minute they boarded their flight to Okinawa. Essentially making the holiday begin from the time they step on board, versus when they arrive at their destination.

Augmented Reality (AR) represented a unique opportunity to bring the destination to life from the minute travelers stepped onboard. A platform that would resonate with and engage younger audiences but at the same time, successfully deliver the core message and drive new interest and tourism opportunities in Okinawa.

Sagashiniikou-Uchina-no-Takara

The concept we created was “Sagashiniikou-Uchina-no-Takara” (finding the hidden treasures of Uchina (Okinawa) – a kind of Okinawan Treasure Hunt. We began by creating a series of 10 short “wow-stories” that highlighted unique characters and traditions of Okinawa. Some of these themes included:

• Sport – Karate: Japanese martial art that actually originated in Okinawa, now an official Olympics sport
• Guinness World Record Holder: World’s longest tug o’war rope made of straw spanning 172 meters and weighing 26,730 tons
• International Dark Sky Place: The night stars view in Iriomoto Ishigaki National Park was officially named as an International Dark Sky Place (Japan’s first and Asia’s second recognized Dark Sky Park site).

Each of the 10 stories was narrated by a spirit character born from the Okinawan tree “Kijimuna” and its Okinawan spirit-friend, “Osakana”. For illustration and character design, we sought out the renown Okinawan illustrator Shu Ashimine to bring our ideas to life. The series of short animated stories were then created and produced these in a dedicated format for Augmented Reality. The stories were also designed in such a way that they were not dependent on audio or text for message comprehension so they could be enjoyed by small children, foreign travelers or hearing-impaired passengers alike.

We also activated the concept of a ‘treasure-hunt’ onboard for passengers by creating 10 individual Activation Marker points for each of the stories that passengers needed to find during their flight. Being mindful of other passengers and keeping passengers seated during the flight, these were in leaflets, in-flight magazines, seat pockets, entertainment guides, and special cards distributed by cabin attendants.

The AR is activated when passengers hold their smartphone over one of the AR markers, bringing the character(s) and storyline to life on their phone.

Technical Considerations

While these flights were WIFI enabled, we needed to guarantee a seamless experience for all 165 passengers simultaneously. To guarantee this we developed the technology with these considerations:

• Smartphone Agnostic Web-Based AR Player: In a market where 88% of smart phones are iPhone – we developed a web-browser enabled AR player that ran on both iOS and Android – avoiding the need to download and install any application from the Apple App Store or Google Play
• Content Streaming Integration with IFE system: in collaboration with Gogo Inflight – we directly installed the player and content to run off the in-flight network of the Gogo Inflight Entertainment System – eliminating the risk of Wi-Fi connectivity and ensuring bandwidth and content throttling capability depending on passenger access capacity. Content updates were integrated with JTA’s in-flight operational processes and coordinated through remote uploading during standard video content uploads conducted with Gogo air content uploads with JAL/JTA
• AR Marker: The AR marker recognition was designed to work from a variety of lighting changes within the aircraft, day or night flights, function across a broad range of hand-held positions in any-seat of the plane, and work across 95% of smartphones sold in Japan
• Content Development: To ensure best user experience irrespective of concentrated access to the IFE – our creative execution guidelines briefed to content teams include production rules of development in Unity, animation with Spine, AR library of AR.js, 15-20 second duration, seamless integrated use of offline environments to enhance online experience