Created as a collaboration between Boeing and UC students and faculty, Boeing Onboard is an interactive in-flight virtual assistant. The rendering above shows what users would see using virtual reality glasses.

DAAP professor Ming Tang’s specialty in design visualization, using interactive media like VR and AR to communicate a design concept, made him a perfect fit for this project.

“Sometimes you need a really strong visual to sell an idea,” Tang explains. “We quickly set up a pipeline involving students with graphic design, 3-D modeling and animation skills, scripting and programming as well as user interface. The team assembled some very big ideas into a model people can see and even interact with in VR and AR.”

So what is the difference between virtual and augmented reality?

Virtual reality is completely computer-generated, so everything seen through a headset is a totally simulated world. Augmented reality overlays computer graphics on the real-world landscape. The best example of AR is the mobile game Pokemon Go, the 2016 hit that utilizes the player's GPS to find virtual characters in real-world locations, whether it be a park, a landmark or even on UC’s campus.

The Live Well team used both technologies while developing Boeing Onboard. The application itself is an example of AR: Users would see the actual interior of their plane while also being able to interact with the virtual assistant.

Movies, apps, menus and other forms of entertainment and amenities could appear on a virtual “screen” much larger than what the physical space would allow. So users might feel like they have more space to work with — making even coach seat seem a little bit roomier — without actually encroaching on the person’s seat next to them.

These technologies also allow for the safety instructions to be specific to each user, highlighting the closest exit or simulating the deployment of oxygen masks. This not only makes these demos more useful, but it frees up the flight attendants to assist with other matters.

In fact, actual flight attendants played a major role in the development of Boeing Onboard.The team interviewed Delta flight attendants from the Cincinnati airport throughout the semester, fine-tuning the work based on their feedback.

“We found out from talking to the flight attendants that [Boeing Onboard] could drastically help with congestion in emergency situations, because everyone’s natural reaction is to run to the door they came in,” says Klus. “If we could highlight the emergency exit and a path going down the aisle way to that exit door instead of the door they came in, that could help massively.”

This is an example of the “human-centered design” boasted by Live Well. All projects are made with actual users and consumers in mind, never in a vacuum. And naturally, the team worked closely with Boeing on this collaboration.

Boeing’s Cynthia Vandewall works in product strategy and future airplane development. Each year she travels to Cincinnati several times per semester to work on Live Well projects.

“Our collaboration with Live Well allows us to ensure we are looking at design challenges with fresh, new perspectives,” she explains. “It gives students insight into the concepts under consideration at Boeing. And, together, we can explore possibilities that might otherwise go untouched until other resources could be made available.”

The opportunity to work on innovative real-world solutions is not just impactful for students, but for corporations like Boeing as well.

“The best part is that in 10 weeks we receive consistently amazing results for each design challenge we present,” Vandewall says. “Having a diverse teaming structure allows for well-thought and more holistic design concepts. I’m continually impressed with the students and professors at UC.”

Live Well’s focus on innovative technology, multidisciplinary work and co-creating with corporate partners makes it a perfect occupant for UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub.

As part of a $38 million renovation, UC’s “new front door” to the community will serve as a space for students and faculty to engage with industry on collaborative problem-solving. Located in a 133,000 square-foot, four-story building that dates back to 1929 (1819 refers to the year of UC’s founding), the Innovation Hub offers a one-stop shop for industry to access the university’s extensive resources and is at the heart of UC’s “Next Lives Here” strategic direction.

The UC Research Institute, UC Simulation Center and Cincinnati Bell are among the hub’s first tenants. The Live Well Collaborative is expected to join the hub this spring. Lane sees the move as a win-win.

“It will help to link us together with a lot of other innovative groups that are affiliated or want to be affiliated with the university, which will be excellent for us because that will just be more resources that we can tap into and offer our students,” he says. “We can collaborate, and that’s the whole point of why we exist. I think it will enhance that collaborative atmosphere with the rest of the university.”

But first, the Live Well Collaborative has its sights set on the Crystal Cabin Award. Tang and Lane will soon travel to Hamburg, Germany, in the hopes of beating out two other finalists in the university category.

Vogel sees Boeing Onboard as one of the most “future-feasible” projects out of Live Well, meaning the technology is very cutting-edge and it would take work to incorporate, but it’s all realistic and doable.

“We were able to see the problem in a whole new way and really use the technology in an empowering way that made sure it was aimed at what people would really want to use it for,” Vogel says. “It’s very customer-centric rather than technology being the lead. Technology serves the needs of people, which is something we feel is very important in what we do at Live Well.”

Learn more about the Live Well Collaborative.

Get involved with Live Well through co-op, a class or an independent study.

Read about the 1819 Innovation Hub.

Apply to UC.