Back to Regional e-Newsletter ECE H2 2009

Working field description

Interview with Renaud Irminger, Director of Programmes, SITA Lab

1. When and why was SITA Lab established?

The SITA Board established SITA Lab in January 2008 to stimulate innovation both within SITA and within the ATI.

2. Is SITA Lab unique in the industry?

What is really unique with SITA Lab is that we are here to serve the ATI community. We conduct projects based on requests from the ATI community, and we invest R&D money in technology research areas where return on investment can be difficult to evaluate.

3. I understand your mandate is to stimulate technology innovation, develop emerging technologies, incubate new technology and product ideas and fuel SITA's idea process. How does this work in practice?

Our main mandate is to conduct proof-of-concepts, pilots and prototypes. For example, last year when Google launched the Android phone, we determined that this could be of major significance for the industry. To learn about both the platform and the ecosystem, we decided to build software for the Android platform that enhanced our understanding of mobile technological trends. This has enabled us to determine the best technical approach to providing services to travellers on the move.

We have now applied what we have learned to launch a mobile suite enabling booking, flight information, scheduling, contact, check-in and some world premiere functionalities in the areas of context awareness and social travel. The SITA mobile suite will be piloted with Malaysia Airlines and will be made available to other SITA reservation customers in Q1 2010.

4. What services do you offer for SITA customers? How can customers collaborate with you?

We regularly present our activities to SITA members, and we welcome all ideas for collaboration. For example, right now we are looking for an airport to work with us to conduct a proof-of-concept using mobile device geolocalization in Q1 2010.

The collaboration is very straightforward. If an airline or airport has an idea for a project where they need additional resources or where there is an important community aspect to make the idea work, we sit down and evaluate its feasibility. Then on both sides we secure the necessary approval to proceed.

5. Can you tell us a bit about your main areas of focus?

We currently have two areas of focus: passenger mobility, and virtualization /cloud computing. We believe that there are a lot of opportunities in these areas. For example, in passenger mobility, there is an opportunity to serve customers better and enhance their travel experiences through technologies like mobile geolocalization, which uses passenger mobile phones to determine travellers' locations. This is a key context element to provide useful services like airport guidance: "Where do I need to go next to board my plane?"

6. How can customers find out more about SITA Lab?

If you would like to know more about SITA Lab, just contact us. We would be very happy to show you our work and discuss joint opportunities. Please feel free to contact me directly at renaud.irminger@sita.aero.