The future of in-flight entertainment?

Cape Town - If you love shutting yourself off from the world while travelling, you will definitely love this patent application for a whole new in-flight entertainment experience filed by Airbus.

Daily Mail reports that the plane manufacturer has envisioned a virtual reality isolation helmet that will allow passengers to fully immerse themselves in the entertainment of their choice, shutting out all distractions from outside. 

In the application, Airbus states that while airlines have been doing their best to entertain fliers by broadcasting films and music as well as providing electronic gaming options, this may not be sufficient for all travellers. 

"It is known that aircraft flights generate stress for certain passengers... An aim of the invention is to improve in this respect the comfort of aircraft passengers," they explain in their application.

Sketches of the proposed helmet reveal something seriously space-age looking, complete with a visor over the eyes and earphone-like pads covering the ears, which will offer passengers "sensorial isolation with regard to the external environment."

Apparently passengers will be able to decide just how isolated they would like to be by adjusting helmet settings. 

A few of the features include built-in video screen, glasses for better viewing and earphones.

Check out these pics from the patent application: