By aggregating multiple services and information, the "One App" travel concept envisions a truly seamless travel and transit future worldwide.
The travel app concept, which was funded by an EU tech research grant, was developed by Dutch design firm Edenspiekermann. The underlying problem statement is to eliminate multiple apps from the workflow when traveling to Europe, and replacing that convoluted user experience with a consistent rubrik that gives the traveler one touchpoint for various information sources.
The designers call this the Info Connectivity System, which suggests the wider ambition of the app concept beyond simply an app. The ICS becomes a platform or API that travel apps both push to and pull from. The traveler experience can thus be enhanced by creating this middle level of information.
Rather than have to pull up an app for each component of a journey - say an airline app, an airport app, and then a car rental app - the cards from each of those apps would be pulled into the One App for easy perusal.
The team spent several years analyzing traveler behavior, and using these insights to build a user experience and flow that most befits the average traveler's journey.
The other advantages of One App for travel:
- Easy switching of languages given the consistent interface.
- Airport directions.
- Real-time updating of flight information.
- Engagement opportunities with iBeacons and QR codes for merchants along the way, and for merchants in-destination.
- Further itinerary-building options in offline mode could allow travelers to explore destination while in the air.
Of course, Apple's Passbook has some of these features, as far as pulling in ticket information from various sources for quick surfacing.
There's also the future potential for iBeacon and QR integration as a traveler moves through a journey. Apple hasn't iterated much further on the Passbook product, and so there's the real potential for an immediate competitor with sufficient platform reach.
More on iBeacon in 2015 here.