Renacen to Focus on UX for Next Version of Its 3D Airline Seat Selection Product
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Renacen, creator of 3D SeatMapVR, has been selected as one of the beneficiaries of the INNOWWIDE program. The Spanish technology company is leveraging the program to double down on its product’s user experience (UX).
Renacen has announced plans to update its 3D SeatMapVR product. The technology, which is currently used by airlines including Emirates, United Airlines, Austrian, Iberia and Etihad, allows customers to select their seats in a 3D virtual environment that’s integrated into the airline’s booking engine. Renacen will collaborate with Digital of Things, a Dubai-based user experience consultancy, to optimize 3D SeatMapVR’s interface and user experience.
The collaboration is a result of Renacen being selected as a beneficiary of the INNOWWIDE program, a European initiative to promote innovative solutions for global markets by funding viability assessments and promoting partnerships with companies based outside of Europe. Over 600 companies applied this round and 70 proposals were approved.
“We were confident that 3D SeatMap VR was a perfect candidate, because of the revolution that it has brought about in ancillary revenues for many airlines and for the user experience in general,” said JoaquÃn Alviz MartÃn, Renacen’s chief operating officer. “It’s an incredible tool to show on board distance measures like blocked free seats, security screens and people-flow routes, which helps passengers regain confidence and travel more, and more peacefully.”
“If 3D SeatMap VR has already been a revolution for airline ancillary revenues, its evolution will be a turning point in our understanding of seating maps.” – JoaquÃn Alviz MartÃn, Renacen
MartÃn told APEX Media that the conversations between Renacen and Digital of Things are already underway, but the main collaboration will kick off in January 2021. That’s when 3DSeatMapVR’s user interfaces will be redefined, experiments will be carried out in the Digital of Things lab, and UX changes will be validated as a result.
UX testing is about fixing what you know, and then learning what you don’t know. “I think it is always important to analyze the user’s response to any type of product,” MartÃn explained. “Knowing the user’s response makes us see the world through their eyes. Many times, we are so used to using our own technology that what seems trivial to us may not be so to the end user, and vice versa.”
The projects funded by INNOWWIDE run for six months. Renacen will most likely have the first conclusions by around February 2021, and could have all the improvements implemented a few months after that, according to MartÃn. “If 3D SeatMap VR has already been a revolution for airline ancillary revenues, its evolution will be a turning point in our understanding of seating maps, and we look forward to showing it to you!”