ASAR
Giving passengers more control over their in-flight meals.
Timeline
Spring 2026 · 10 weeks
Role
UX Design
Location
Georgia Tech
Skills
User research, Concept sketching, Prototyping & testing, Rendering
What is ASAR?
ASAR stands for Automated Service and Retrieval. It is a system built into airplane cabins that delivers and collects in-flight meals at each seat.
The question behind the project
ASAR project requirement
For this 10-week project at Georgia Tech, I was asked to imagine what the future of in-flight dining could look like.
01
Context
The project asked what in-flight dining could become.
02
Why it matters
Meal service is one of the few moments everyone on a flight shares, and one of the most cramped.
03
Scope
A 10-week project in Spring 2026.
The problem
The main problem was a lack of control. Passengers reached over each other to pass trays, did not know when their meal was coming and felt crowded once it arrived.
How might we give passengers control over when and how they eat on a flight?
Users and stakeholders
We spoke with flight attendants, onboard culinary leadership and passengers to understand what each group needed.
01
Flight attendants
Quality of service and passenger safety.
02
Culinary leadership
Safety, brand consistency and profitability.
03
Passengers
Efficiency, comfort, and service and food quality.
Design process
The research pointed to three areas to give back to the passenger. I then sketched concepts, from trays anchored to the table to an overhead rail and meal pods in the seat.
01
Service efficiency
Faster, quieter service for the crew.
02
Self-paced meals
Passengers eat when they are ready.
03
Space autonomy
Passengers decide when the tray is in front of them.
Features
Meals arrive on a belt built into the seat back. Passengers take the tray when they are ready and return it the same way.
ASAR in the cabin
The full system, built into the seat backs.
Belt delivery
Many people wanted to rest without being disturbed, and in testing they wanted to stay unbothered.
Magnetic attachments
The tray attaches to the seat back, which fixed the problem with space autonomy.
Food tray
Compartments open like an unboxing. The curve shows which way to open it, and people opened it the way they open a tray table.
Handle signifiers
Highlights on the handle show where to grab.
Storyboard
The passenger journey, from ordering on the seatback screen to returning the tray.
Final renders
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