Vueling has announced that start-up companies PulpaTronics and Asteroid Technologies are the winners of its NextGen Aviation Challenge competition, winning for finding innovative solutions to sustainability and customer experience, respectively.

The Challenge invited businesses, start-ups and visionaries across Europe to present revolutionary solutions aimed at redefining air travel.

The winners were announced on March 5, at Vueling’s 4FYN (four years from now) event during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The PuplaTronics team proposed recyclable RFID (radio frequency identification) baggage tags that utilise biodegradable inks instead of electronic components like chips or metals for tracking. In doing so, it improved baggage traceability and made the tags recyclable, optimising operations and reducing environmental impact.

Asteroid Technologies presented its ‘Háblalo’ application which facilitates communication for people with disabilities or language barriers and made customer engagement at airports and on flights more accessible. This ensure that passengers who need assistance can travel more independently.

More than 80 start-ups submitted proposals across the two categories, and the projects were judged by a panel that included: Ingrid Graells, president of the Tech Tourism Cluster in Barcelona; Javier Alvarez, Vueling’s IT director; and Santiago Villarroya, Vueling’s sustainability specialist.

From the 80 groups that competed, other than the two winners there were also four finalists in each category.

Among them, for sustainability, was Aerosens, which suggested optimising in-cabin processes using low-energy Bluetooth labels to accelerate inspections, and Hydros Power, which explored using hydrogen fuel cells to decarbonise air transport.

There was also Mitiga Solutions, which proposed using AI to measure aerosol absorption in aircraft engines, and Vaive Technologies which developed autonomous electric vehicles with AI to improve transportation efficiency.

For customer experience, the company Causal Foundry presented a solution that involved using AI to personalise communications and improve incident management, and Oxide AI, which suggested personalised AI assistants for each passenger.

LowKeyMoves created digital avatars with AI to interact with passengers, and finally PXCom which integrates an interactive marketplace in each seat with personalised content based on AI.

As a leading European low-cost carrier, Vueling sets an example for other carriers in the region. Moving forward, it will be exploring how to implement the winning solutions into its plans for the future so they can function within or alongside the company’s existing operations.