Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) and Toca Boca have announced plans to evaluate the creation of an inflight map especially for children, based on Arc, Panasonic’s personalised 3D inflight map platform.
If the deal goes ahead, it would be an extension of Toca Boca and Panasonic’s existing relationship, which provides seatback entertainment for families. The map would be the first of its kind, combining Toca Boca’s creativity in digital toys with the Arc technology, to produce a fun interface designed to keep kids entertained and informed inflight.
Arc’s technology is inspired by the latest design thinking of contemporary UX and high-definition gaming experiences and is intended to enable airlines to leverage the high viewership of moving maps inflight by people of all age . The system expands the typical inflight moving map application – whether seatback or overhead displays, handsets, or within mobile apps and web portals – into a fully integrated experience within Panasonic’s IFEC ecosystem by aligning with its NEXT Theatre (inflight entertainment), Loyalty (personalisation) and Marketplace (e-commerce) solutions.
David Bartlett, CTO of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, stated, “Our vision is to inspire the next generation to travel, learn about the world around them, and have fun while doing it. At Panasonic we’re constantly innovating to enhance the passenger experience for flyers of all ages, and the launch of our child-friendly map is a big step forward on that journey.”
Caroline Ingeborn, President and COO, Toca Boca, added, “Everything we design is from the kids’ perspective, and we love the idea that they could have a fun map of their own. This potential collaboration could be a fun new venue for us to invite travelling families to play through innovation, quality and inclusion.”
In April 2019 it was announced that Toca Boca was a launch user of Gaming, a new addition to Panasonic’s Theatre Inflight Entertainment solution.