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Air Berlin's latest iOS app can push boarding passes to your Pebble
Still carrying a paper boarding pass when you travel? Air Berlin's got a new way to go green this Earth Day. The airline's iOS app now sports Pebble integration, letting you display boarding passes and flight information on your smartwatch. You can pull up the QR code-style pass on your wrist when it's time to board -- the agent will be able to confirm your seat and flight info as soon as you scan, eliminating the need to pull out your phone as you queue up at the gate. Air Berlin is the second airline to offer this feature -- Vueling teamed up with Sony to add boarding pass functionality to the SmartWatch 2 just last month -- and we can only hope US carriers will follow suit.
Hitachi boarding gate can sniff explosives on passes, keep the transport queues flowing (video)
Anyone who's hopped on a flight at a major airport, or even some land-based transit, knows the agonizing wait that certain agencies demand while they scan for explosives and check boarding passes. Hitachi is working with Nippon Signal and the University of Yamanachi to build a new boarding gate that hopefully kills those two security birds with one stone. As you're swiping your boarding pass (or smartphone), the machine also scans it for particle-sized traces of explosive materials and sends the all-clear or no-go in less than two seconds. If all goes well, the system could check up to 1,200 passengers every hour at a single gate -- a rate quick enough to prevent a logjam at even the busiest terminals. Our chief reservations surround its scope. Hitachi has earned enough trust to get trial installations at Narita International Airport and a Tokyo subway station this coming spring, but we have a hunch that some airport officials would demand a more thorough screening, no matter how much it's actually needed.
Apple demos Passbook, a one-stop shop for tickets and boarding passes
From airline and train boarding passes to concert tickets, we've seen a variety of tix make their way into the digital realm at venues around the world. With today's announcement of Passbook, the hard copy credential may soon be a thing of the past. Speaking on stage at Apple's WWDC keynote, VP of iOS Software Scott Forstall demonstrated the feature with United boarding passes, Fandango movie tickets and a Starbucks gift card. While none of these examples are making their premiere debut, Passbook will certainly make the QR-code-based stubs more user-friendly, while also increasing awareness among folks who continue to opt for paper while doubting the usability and authenticity of a digital counterpart. Passbook is also location aware, bringing up a Starbucks card as you approach a shop, for example. You can also get updates related to your stored credentials, such as a gate change announcement with a pending United boarding pass. The feature will come bundled with iOS 6, set to launch this fall. Check out our full coverage of WWDC 2012 at our event hub!%Gallery-157917%
Cellphone boarding pass gets tested, experience gets journaled
The biggest problem with a new scheme -- particularly one involving you, technology and the TSA -- is the very real fear that introducing something fresh into a traditional system will create more havoc than good. As Grant Martin of sister blog Gadling discovered, there's a reason that belief exists. Upon realizing that he could utilize a mobile boarding pass on his flight from Detroit to New York, he excitedly pulled up a one-time use QR code on his iPhone and shuffled through to security. Upon reaching the checkpoint, he was greeted by a less-than-enthusiastic boarding pass checker who seemed to take entirely too long to send him onward; at the next step, the agent seemed miffed and discomposed by the fact that the passenger couldn't simultaneously rid himself of all electronics and keep his boarding pass on his person while passing through the metal detector. In the end, Mr. Martin concluded that the system holds a lot of promise, but it's still going to take some time before everyone else working at the airport adjusts to the year 2008.
American Airlines getting in on that cellphone boarding pass fad
American Airlines has joined its peers at Continental in offering boarding pass barcodes that you can download to and display on your BlackBerry, iPhone, G1, or whatever have you. Presently the airline is only offering the option on domestic, non-stop flights departing from O'Hare -- LAX and Orange County will start on the 17th. Some eastern yanks might be asking, "What, no JFK or Logan? Where's the east coast love, AA?" Don't get too bent out of shape, boys and girls -- tech-savvy business travelers love their BlackBerries, so we could see this pop up just about everywhere before long.[Via Mobilitysite]
Winning video chosen in PotBS boarding tutorial contest
The Pirates of the Burning Sea video contest that we looked at a few weeks ago has drawn to a close, and a winning video has been selected. The aim of the contest was to create a video that could explain the process of boarding other ships to a new player, with a graphics card on offer for the winner.Embedded above is the winning entry, from PotBS player Al "AlanB" Bradbury. It does a great job of outlining the boarding rules of thumb, and is an entertaining piece to boot, thanks to the surly pirate teacher and his interrupting parrot companion. New video contests from Flying Lab Software will be coming up in the future, giving players more chances to win prizes and show off their video creations.
PotBS video contest offers graphics card bounty
The Pirates of the Burning Sea community site has posted a neat guide to making videos of their game, covering a number of different programs, and the finishing touches that can turn a good movie into a great one. It's certainly a nice guide, but you might wonder if there is any particular reason that Flying Lab Software is educating their players so -- and of course, there is.A new series of contests are on the way for PotBS subscribers, and the objective is to come up with some top-notch tutorial videos. The first contest is based around the art of Boarding Combat, and the winning video should be something that can explain to new players exactly how to succeed at this. The creator of the best video will sail away with a GeCube ATI Radeon HD 3650 graphics card, and entry closes on the 30th of June. You can visit the competition page to get all the specific requirements, and begin your career as a pirate teacher.
Continental Airlines expands paperless boarding in US
Handset addicts traveling domestically through Houston's Intercontinental Airport have likely utilized the paperless boarding option if hopping on a Continental flight, and apparently the initiative is going over so well that the aforesaid airline and the TSA are expanding it to three more venues. As of now, passengers traveling within the US can enjoy the same luxury at Boston's Logan International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C; later this month, the program should slide into Newark International Airport in New Jersey. As expected, only folks traveling alone can take advantage, as the airline feels that pulling up passes for an entire group would actually slow the flow of boarding. There's been no word given on future expansion plans, but at this rate, we wouldn't be shocked to see it hit even more airports in the not-too-distant future. [Via WBZTV]
Continental Airlines testing cellphone boarding passes
Paperless boarding schemes aren't exactly revolutionary, but they're still far from common at US airports. Now, however, Continental Airlines has announced that it will be trialing a cellphone-based boarding setup at Houston's Intercontinental Airport, which will enable single passengers to show personnel a jumbled mixture of blocks alongside their ID in order to hop on board. The three-month program will allow guinea pigs to receive a paper pass should their mobile / PDA run out of juice before boarding time approaches, and while hard plans for future use aren't laid out, it was noted that the process could spread to other airlines and airports if things go smoothly.
AutoDocker to make boarding and deplaning faster
Just about everyone has been in line while waiting to board a plane, and perhaps only the acrophobic have wished it wouldn't take so freakin' long. Well, if you're in Denver, you may just be in luck. Dewbridge Airport Systems is claiming that its new robotic passenger bridge, dubbed the "AutoDocker," (no relation to the khakis-bot) will halve boarding and deplaning time by placing walkways at both the front and rear entrances on a plane. AutoDocker has been using its sensors and 3D object recognition abilities on doors of different types of aircraft starting this week on United Airlines flights coming in or out of Denver International Airport. We're pretty sure that if AutoDocker were to combine with that new Airbus emergency landing robot we spotted earlier this year, then all we'd need now is robotic air traffic controllers to complete the mechanization of air travel. Yes, that was a joke about flight attendants being robots.[Via Robot Gossip]
O'Neill's multimedia-ready H3 Campack
Forget purchasing an iPod-ready coat, Bluetooth-equipped helmet, and head-mountable webcam for your daredevil adventures on the slopes, as O'Neill has all three areas covered in one snazzy backpack. The H3 Campack sports all the weatherproof compartments and slick designs we expect to see on a rider's pack, but also rocks built-in sleeve controls for your DV cam, iPod, and Bluetooth phone. A proprietary module becomes a bantam liaison for your trio of gizmos, giving the integrated joystick full control over your camcorder's lens and / or playlist directions. The bag also touts the ability to keep your precious gadgetry safe and secure within the bag, while giving you full control over the functionality of each. If you're looking for an all-in-one method to record that Winter X-Games submission vid, and your control isn't hampered by juggling three gizmos while busting a backside tail grab, you can snag the H3 Campack now for £240 ($449). [Via AVING]
