With just under one year to go until Expo 2020 Dubai, billed as “the world’s greatest show”, Emirates airline is lifting the lid on the futuristic, interactive technologies and experiences in store for visitors at its Expo 2020 pavilion.

Emirates has been working with academics and its industry partners in aviation and aerospace, to create and carefully curate informative and thought-provoking experiences on the future of aviation for all Expo 2020 Dubai visitors.

Emirates begun construction of its pavilion earlier this year. With the foundations completed, the airline is currently finalising the building’s steel structure.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said: “The Emirates Expo 2020 Pavilion offers a preview for the future of commercial aviation in 2071, exploring the outer boundaries of science and technology as we look forward to the next 50 years of air travel. The concepts we’re showcasing aim to inspire and inform visitors of the many revolutionary and sustainability-driven breakthroughs that the commercial aviation industry has achieved and continues to develop. The interactive experiences will allow visitors to experiment with advanced airframes, propulsion systems, futuristic fuselages, and ultramodern composite materials. Much like Expo 2020 Dubai itself, Emirates Pavilion visitors will leave with a sense that the spirit of creativity, innovation and technological progress will help us leap into a better future.”

Here are some of the experiences in store for visitors to the Emirates Pavilion, offering a glimpse into how air travel is shaping up in the next decades:

A personalised journey

Each visitor beings their personalised journey by collecting a ‘seed’, a tactile sphere to unlock all of the experiences at the Emirates Pavilion. As they move through the site, visitors will interact with various installations covering different aspects of future aviation. These interactions will be captured on the ‘seed’ and stored for playback in the final experience to ensure that each visitor experience is unique.

The science of flight

Animations using holographic models of futuristic aircraft will bring to life aeronautical science and explain how aircraft achieve flight by visualising the physical properties of lift, thrust, gravity and drag. Visitors will be able to interact with the scientific narrative to demonstrate how the combination of low air pressure and wing shape creates lift, which when fused with the other elements enables flight.

Cleaner skies

Introducing more renewable and sustainable solutions into aviation is a significant industry priority to ensure cleaner and quieter skies. The Cleaner Skies installation at the Emirates Pavilion is an immersive experience that highlights key sustainability issues in the context of passenger growth and technological advancements, as well as promising innovations. Visitors will be invited to take a quiz to learn more about future technologies in aviation that are being developed to tackle climate change.

Future lab

What will make aircraft of the future lighter, faster, and stronger? Visitors will step into the laboratory of the future to test technologies and loop through a series of experiments carried out by robotic arms. Visitors will get to deep dive into experiments with composite materials, 4D printing, biomimetics, generative design and self-healing materials.

Thrust and propulsion

Visitors will explore future engines and fuels through transparent animated screens and motion graphics featuring realistic aircraft engine models. The futurist engine concepts will showcase different technologies such as hypersonic, hydrogen, hybrid and electric – and demonstrate how they impact emissions, sustainability, comfort and speed.

Design your perfect aircraft

As the personalised experience continues, visitors will be invited to put their knowledge into practice to design and fly their own futuristic aircraft. Through an ultra-haptic interface, visitors will build their aircraft and run it through a flight simulator. Large holographic screens will provide instant feedback on their design decisions throughout the process. Visitors will get to design their aircraft based on range, type of engine, wings, and livery, so they can finally take it on a ‘test flight’ which will test its sustainability, speed, range and passenger comfort.

Airport of the future

Emirates will also visualise the airport of the future for visitors to learn how biometrics, data analytics and smart technologies will transform the passenger experience on the ground. Frictionless customs and security systems, innovation in baggage handling, and electric powered transportation and smart waste management systems will all be explored in detail.

Experience your tomorrow

Visitors will be able to fully immerse themselves through interactive Virtual Reality headsets that allows them to explore aircraft interior cabins of the future. As they settle into their seats they can navigate the virtual fuselage’s interactive windows, a full windowless state, inflight communication system, noise cancelling sound shrouds, automated trolleys, as well as views of different types of cabins and seating configurations.

Seeding the future

As each visitor returns their seeds for uploading, the full Emirates Pavilion experience will culminate in a 360° multi-sensory film which combines dynamic storytelling and stunning 3D motions graphics with visitor information that is captured during the tour to deliver a personalised and memorable end to the journey.

Taking place from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai has been already dubbed the ‘world’s greatest show’, promising an abundance of unique experiences at 192 country pavilions that celebrate the many advancements in our world and inspire the future; as well as a jam-packed entertainment programme with daily live events, music and cultural festivals, culinary experiences, inspiring talks and workshops and much more.