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Written by Abimanyu Srikanth on June 22, 2017 Share on

Top tech innovations that will change the world of travel

Self-flying aircraft. Universal real-time language translators. VR tours to exotic locales. Seems like something out of Star Trek? Not anymore, mon amis. We will be able to enjoy all of the above and more soon. As they say, the future is now. Here’s a list of upcoming travel tech that will change the way we vacation.

Vacation plans in your head? Our travel wizards can help you plan the vacation of your dreams. All you have to do is drop us a note.

And here are some travel gizmos that every traveller must have.

1. Self flying planes

upcoming travel tech
Image credit – pixabay.com

Self-driven cars have been in the works for a long time now, and automated transport is a huge part of futuristic pop-culture. And it looks like the future is coming sooner than we expected with this upcoming travel tech!

Boeing has revealed that the company is preparing to test self-flying planes. Developing autonomous tech that can operate a flight with no human input will solve various problems that the aviation industry is facing now. With human error being the reason for most flight mishaps, having a computer making the decisions a pilot would normally will help solve things.

Autonomous flights will also reduce the need for multiple pilots on long haul flights, and also remove the need to hire the 600000 pilots who’ll be needed to fly the estimated 41,000 commercial flights over the next 20 years. Computers already control takeoff, cruise and landing of planes with minimal or no human assistance. If the new move is implemented, you’ll have pilot-less planes ferrying you and your cargo across the skies.

However, the question remains. Will you want to fly in a pilot-less plane? Looks like we’re going to find out soon enough.

2. Face recognition for seamless check-in at airports

upcoming travel tech

Facial recognition technology is no longer just a thing for the movies. Airports will soon use facial recognition for check-ins and tagging luggage. US-based Delta Airlines is the first in the country to add check-in kiosks that have facial recognition option to match people with their passport picture. With the new tech, checking in at airports will be a smooth procedure, cutting down the time and the hassle usually associated with the task.

Soon, you will be able to get through with airport check-in procedures and board the flight with only a biometric check.

How this works is, once your biometric details are captured via facial scan, they are matched with your passport, travel documents, visa and other data that is already available in the system.

3. Wearables that translate languages in real time

upcoming travel tech

Ever resorted to sign language to ask for directions to the closest loo on your exotic vacation? Well, not anymore. Australia-based tech startup Lingmo International has developed One2One, a wearable device that translates conversations in mere seconds. Seems too good to be true? It isn’t!

As of now, the device can translate conversations in English, Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German and Chinese. Set to hit the global market next month, the device will help make the travel experience so much better.

And the best part? The device doesn’t rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so no mistimed lags! It uses IBM Watson tech to understand and translate dialect nuances and contextual meanings. So no more leafing through your pocket dictionary to come up with cool pick-up lines at the foreign bar. Woohoo!

4. Digital Bag Tags – No More Lost Luggage!

upcoming travel tech

Losing your luggage is a concern when you’re flying international. Landing in Japan and finding that your bags are on their own separate vacation to Australia is never good news. Airlines also lose billions of dollars over lost or misplaced luggage. And that is why real time luggage tracking is fast becoming the go-to for travellers.

RFID technology (developed by SITA) keeps track of your baggage in real time, from check-in through flight travel to arrival. The tech works the same way as normal check-in tags, but the barcode is integrated with an RFID chip that will help track your bags even without scanning them.

One step higher than RFID tech is using smartphone app-enabled tracking. Digital tags help you check-in your luggage from home in seconds. Having the tracking app installed in your phone also helps you keep a more precise track of your precious luggage.

5. Virtual Reality In Travel

upcoming travel tech

With the Oculus Rift, gamers and movie lovers across the globe are finally experiencing a level of immersion that only comes with virtual reality. However, how does virtual reality translate to a better travel experience?

Airliners are using VR to sell up packages by giving passengers a virtual taste of their premium travel class. Hotels, commercial and other private players will also be using VR to give clients a virtual tour of the hotel rooms and their destination. With the level of immersion that VR tech offers, you’ll want to pack up and leave on your vacation as soon as possible.

Apart from in-flight entertainment and advertising, another way that VR is being used is give passengers 360 degree virtual tours of the airport procedures. This has been inplemented at Heathrow Airport, and has shown to help passengers relax ahead of the flight.

And finally, one travel tech innovation that will definitely change the way you do vacations…

7. Pickyourtrail

Everyone loves vacations. However, planning one will get you from “I’m going on an adventure!” to “Oh screw this let’s go next year” in no time, what with booking flights, hotels, transportation, lodging, preparing an itinerary and so on. Phew.

This is where we come in. Travel and technology go hand-in-hand here at Pickyourtrail. All you have to do to get your dream vacation going is contact us, so that our in-house travel gurus can do all the heavy lifting for you, from start to finish.

Your dream vacation is just a click away with us.

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