Digital Rights Management for Dynamic In-Flight Service Upgrades
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transportation vehicles, such as aircraft, face challenges in dynamically upgrading or downgrading digital content and functionality, which limits airlines' ability to segment passenger cabins and differentiate service offerings and pricing effectively, as physical seat characteristics are fixed and difficult to change.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an onboard IFEC system that allows for dynamic segmentation of aircraft cabin service levels by varying media content and seat-specific features, enabling customers to select service levels and purchase upgrades or downgrades through a self-service portal, using a digital rights management system to manage feature access based on fare class and loyalty data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If physical seat characteristics are fixed to define service levels, then cabin configuration is simple and stable, but service differentiation and pricing flexibility are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of service level characteristics through software configurations rather than physical modifications. Digital rights objects replicate the functionality and access rights associated with different service levels, allowing multiple service tiers to be defined through software without adding physical complexity to the cabin structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes service level parameters through software configuration rather than physical modification. By modifying digital rights objects and access permissions, the system can dynamically adjust service characteristics such as media content access, connectivity options, and feature availability, enabling flexible service differentiation without altering the physical cabin configuration.
2Productivity
If digital content and functionality are dynamically upgraded, then service offerings are enhanced and revenue increases, but system complexity and management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service digital upgrades where passengers can autonomously purchase and activate additional service features through onboard interfaces. This automated approach allows revenue generation without requiring manual intervention from cabin crew or ground staff for each upgrade transaction, reducing management overhead while increasing service offerings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-configures digital rights objects and upgrade options before flights depart. Service level definitions, content licensing, and access permissions are established in advance, allowing rapid deployment of dynamic service changes without complex real-time management during flight operations.
3Ease of operation
If more service levels are offered, then customer choice and willingness to pay are better matched, but the number of configurations and management requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal digital rights object structure that can represent multiple service levels through a single configurable framework. Rather than creating separate systems for each service tier, the system uses a unified digital rights management approach where one infrastructure supports multiple service levels by varying the contents and permissions of digital rights objects, simplifying configuration management while enhancing customer choice.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a transportation vehicle. One method includes retrieving information before a flight for an aircraft, the information including passenger fare purchase data, passenger seat location data, aircraft configuration defining a layout of the aircraft, functions available on the flight controlled by an in-flight entertainment (IFE) system; prior to the flight, generating a digital rights object for the aircraft, the digital rights object defining media content and functionality that will be made available to each passenger at a passenger seat; parsing the digital rights object to map media content and functionality for each passenger seat; and enabling by the IFE system, an upgrade or downgrade of digital rights of a passenger as defined by the digital rights object.