Hasta La Gadget!

Many of us avoid flying with checked baggage when possible, and for good reason: even a simple delay can sour a whole trip. Airbus’ new Bag2Go prototype could save us from having to pack light, however. The smart luggage carries a raft of sensors that work with an iOS app to bypass the usual airport drudgery. Its RFID chip lets travelers check in their bag and link it to every step of their itinerary; in theory, couriers can ship baggage to the hotel at a lower cost than usual. Bag2Go should also provide some reassurance through GPS tracking and alerts to any possible tampering. Airbus is still early into development, but it foresees a business model where customers can either buy a Bag2Go suitcase at a premium or rent one for a long vacation. As for us? We’ll just be happy if our luggage avoids an unexpected detour to Belize.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

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Via: MacRumors, Australian Business Traveller

Source: Design Q (Vimeo)

Airbus isn’t putting all its eggs in one basket — or rather, one bag. While it already has a suite of iPad cockpit apps to assist pilots, the aircraft maker is hedging its bet with a deal to use Dell Latitude laptops as electronic flight bags on the A320 family. Crews will get the Latitude E6330 installed as a Class-2 device that can link up with the A320’s avionics; as you’d expect, the PCs will also ship with software for maps, manuals and weather. We’ve reached out to learn just which carriers are going this route, although possible expansion to other Airbus vehicles could make Dell a common sight at 36,000 feet.

Filed under: Laptops, Transportation, Dell

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Source: Dell

Turns out, Boeing’s latest lithium troubles are shaking down to the rest of the airline industry. Airbus, just announced that it is scrapping plans to outfit its A350 jets with the same secondary batteries that have caused its rival so much trouble. More »

Airbus has been crafting its plane of the future for some time now, and while earlier visualizations focus on see-through aircraft with shapeshifting seats, the aviation company’s latest ideas have the environment — and passengers’ precious time — in mind. Airbus just unveiled its “Smarter Skies” conceptualization of what air travel will look like in 2050, and all signs point to shorter flights and less energy consumption. For one, the aircraft manufacturer imagines an assisted takeoff, dubbed “eco-climb” mode, where smaller, lighter airplanes would depart from shorter runways and reach cruising altitude faster. Once in the air, planes could pinpoint the most direct route and travel en masse — a la a flock of birds — along “express skyways” to reduce emissions and arrive at their destinations sooner. (That idea’s totally gonna fly, right?) And when it comes time to land, aircraft could descend into airports with engines running in idle, allowing for reduced noise and emissions. Take a look at all five concepts in action in the video below the break.

Continue reading Airbus imagines ‘smarter skies’ by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times

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Airbus imagines ‘smarter skies’ by 2050: reduced emissions and shorter flight times originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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3D printing may still be in its infancy, but at least one Airbus designer sees things progressing quite a bit over the next 40 years or so. As Forbes reports, the company’s Bastian Schafer has been working on a new concept plane for the last two years with other Airbus designers — one that would largely be “printed” using a hangar-sized 3D printer. “It would have to be about 80 by 80 meters,” he told Forbes, adding that such a thing “could be feasible.” According to Schafer, 3D printing could not only lead to some significant cost savings, but also allow for parts that are 65 percent lighter than those made with traditional manufacturing methods. Naturally, the concept plane itself is also a showpiece for a raft of other new technologies, including a transparent wall membrane, a 100 percent recyclable cabin, and “morphing” seats that could harvest body heat from passengers. You can get a peek at what the plane might look like in the video after the break.

Continue reading Airbus designer hopes to see planes roll out of hangar-sized 3D printers by 2050

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Airbus designer hopes to see planes roll out of hangar-sized 3D printers by 2050 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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