Emirates Group & Amazon Embark on Futuristic Training Platform

The Emirates Group is embarking on a futuristic, immersive digital journey to transform its employee experiences by collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Both organisations have signed an agreement to develop an immersive Extended Reality (iXR) platform and capability for the Emirates Group’s cabin crew, new joiners, and the wider industry partner community. 3D virtual hubs, virtual training, gamified environments, simulated experiences – all this and infinitely more are in the offing as the Group adds on features and technology to the platform.

iXR, powered by AWS spatial computing and artificial intelligence, will deliver technical capabilities with photorealistic experiences. iXR experiences will be available across next-gen wearables and hand-held devices, including tablets and mobiles, with a consistent, hi-fidelity experience, streamed from the cloud. In the first phase, iXR will have three distinct capabilities – a collaborative hub and social space; cabin crew training; and employee onboarding. iXR will feature advanced technologies including Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, offering developers flexible, scalable, secure, and reliable real-time capabilities on AWS' cloud.

An Emirates Virtual Hub will welcome employees to engaging and interactive brand experiences.

iXR will introduce a 3D interactive experience to the airline’s cabin crew in an immersive environment. Crew will be transported into a digital universe with virtual classrooms, engage with and learn from seasoned facilitators and peers, and navigate the intricate interiors of the airline’s flagship A380s and Boeing 777s. The environment will feature cabin service trainers, photorealistic avatars, and spatial audio for an authentic, sensory experience that enhances Emirates’ hospitality ethos.

The hyperreal virtual world will enable the Emirates Group’s new recruits to quickly and visually learn more about the organisation and its extensive business, the people and its culture, their own roles, and living in Dubai. Embedded support services will create a seamless onboarding experience for successful candidates.

“iXR, which is on-track for launch later in the year, will establish us as the first and only airline with an embedded extended reality platform connecting its operations,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer. “It reflects our commitment to spearhead and entrench innovation and cutting-edge technologies in aviation for the benefit of our customers, communities and the industry.”

Al Opher, VP of Professional Services, AWS said: “Extended Reality (XR) is a rapidly emerging technology that will propel the aviation industry into the future. It will have a profound impact on training, design, and innovative service propositions in safe environments that are immersive, performance-oriented, and efficient. We are thrilled to support the Emirates Group’s transition into the 3D Web era by offering expertise in infrastructure, AI, and spatial computing solutions as well as our AWS Professional Services colleagues - global experts in these fields - to bring this technology to life.”

The Emirates Pavilion at Expo 2020 is being repurposed as a hub to develop cutting-edge future experiences aligned with the UAE’s vision for the digital economy. The Emirates Group continues to engage with industry partners on its Web3 strategy, and recruit talent for projects in its pipeline.