Next-Gen Airline Cabin walkthrough with Interactive VR experience
Background and Challenge
A leading airline provider partnered with Tata Elxsi to develop a cutting-edge VR experience that enables immersive exploration of Airbus A350 cabin interiors across travel classes. Designed for Meta Quest 3, this solution replaces static showcases with interactive walkthroughs, highlighting key features and customer-centric design.
Creating a highly interactive, visually rich VR environment on Meta Quest 3 posed technical challenges—balancing asset detail with performance, integrating intuitive interactions, and achieving high realism. Additionally, the team had to streamline user experience and overcome limitations of conventional marketing tools to enhance customer engagement and understanding.
Scope of work
Tata Elxsi developed an interactive VR experience to simulate a digital walkthrough of a leading airline provider’s Airbus A350 cabin, enhancing engagement and showcasing in-flight services through immersive design, 3D modeling, and intuitive interaction features. Key deliverables include:
- Design two VR concepts, user journeys, and a mid-fidelity prototype with interaction mapping
- Make gesture-based teleportation and object interaction across 10 hotspots per cabin
- Create lightweight 3D assets for seats, layouts, decor, branding, and crew areas Animate two USPs per cabin and rig a character (airhostess) for added realism
- Integrate ambient sounds, voiceovers, and SFX for a rich sensory experience
- Execute using agile methodology with phases for data gathering, design, development, and testin
Solution
Tata Elxsi implemented a high-fidelity Digital 3D Flight Model using VR to offer an immersive, interactive exploration of a leading airline provider’s Airbus A350 cabin, enhancing customer engagement and product understanding. Key highlights of the solution include:
- Developed the application using Unity to enable smooth VR performance on Meta Quest devices
- Implemented gesture-based teleportation and object interaction for intuitive cabin navigation
- Built lightweight, high-quality 3D models of cabin elements with realistic textures, lighting, and décor
- Created animations to highlight USPs and demonstrate in-flight features dynamically
- Integrated hotspots, ambient sounds, voiceovers, and SFX to enrich user immersion
- Adopted an agile process including alpha, gold, and final VR application releases on Meta Quest platforms iterative feedback to align closely with client vision and expectations
Impact
Tata Elxsi’s immersive VR solution for the leading airline's Airbus A350 has redefined customer engagement through innovative, human-centric design. By enabling gesture-based exploration of cabin interiors, the experience offers an intuitive and interactive understanding of in-flight amenities. This not only elevates user experience but also empowers sales and marketing with a compelling showcase tool. Additionally, the virtual model supports operational efficiency by aiding staff training without the need for physical setups. The solution successfully bridges emotional and functional value, deepening passenger appreciation, expanding outreach, and helping the airline differentiate itself in a highly competitive market.
