Overview
Notwithstanding the increased mobility of European citizens across Europe, with regional flights becoming a frequent means of transportation for reasons of work, family or leisure, flight experience still suffers from several shortcomings, especially in terms of time efficiency (with boarding bottlenecks and dis-embarkment problems) and lack of comfort on board (reduced space and connectivity for passengers, reduced space between seats and poor cleanliness of lavatories and other aircraft public areas). All these elements have significant relapses both in terms of passengers’ well-being and of economic costs for airline companies.
The RATIOS project will address all the above-mentioned problems envisioning a 2035 user scenario, by improving passenger comfort, cost-efficiency, environmental protection and on-board safety, through the design of innovative interiors. The consortium will explore, conceive, develop and test at TRL 3/4 breakthrough concept solutions and technologies for cabin interiors though the Human-Centred Design Approach (HCDA), with the aim of optimizing boarding and dis-embarkment times, leveraging on new coming technologies and materials and ensuring weight-saving, better eco-compliance and lower operational costs for air companies. Moreover, RATIOS will improve cabin environment by realizing personalized services for passengers with different needs, starting from the improvement of flight productive time for passengers willing to use travelling time for work purposes, as well as guaranteeing well-being with more comfortable cabin environment, seats, spacy overhead compartments, improved hygiene and high-level of in-flight services.