Stellar Entertainment has launched Cosmo Vision, a new AI-assisted technology that can screen in-flight entertainment (IFE) content up to 75% faster than manual screening, according to recent testing. The technology reviews video, subtitles, and metadata based on each customer’s requirements, then flags and time-codes potential issues for Stellar Lab specialists to review. As airlines add more content across different markets, Cosmo Vision can help Stellar screen more titles at once while ensuring specialists still make the final decision.
Using AI to Speed Up IFE Compliance Screening
Compliance rules can differ between airlines, markets, and distributors. A movie or television show approved for one customer may need a different review for another, so the same title can go through screening several times. That matters for Stellar because it works with airlines around the world, including American Airlines, Azerbaijan Airlines, China Airlines, and the Qantas Group. These airlines serve different countries and passenger groups, which can change how Stellar needs to review their content.
Cosmo Vision screens each title based on the customer’s own requirements instead of using the same rules for everyone. It looks at the video, dialogue, subtitles, and metadata together, then flags potential issues and shows specialists where they appear. The AI does not make the final decision. Instead, it helps Stellar’s specialists find the parts of a title that may need a closer look.
“The volume of content moving through in-flight entertainment has grown, and compliance screening requires a high level of detail and judgement. Those requirements can vary significantly depending on where and how content will be shown,” said Stellar Entertainment Senior Technology Strategist Jono Fagg.
“Cosmo Vision gives our teams a more intelligent way to manage that complexity, helping them find what needs attention faster and work across much greater volumes of content, while keeping the final decision with the specialists who understand the content and its context,” Fagg continued.
Recent testing found that Cosmo Vision can screen content up to 75% faster than the manual process, although Stellar said results can vary by title. The company tested the technology across different customer requirements and editorial guidelines. Cosmo Vision operates in the cloud 24 hours a day and can screen several titles at the same time.
That can help airlines and distributors move content through screening faster, especially when they have set deadlines for updating their entertainment libraries. At the same time, Stellar can handle more content as IFE catalogs grow.
More content gives passengers more choices, but it also creates more work behind the scenes before those titles reach the aircraft. By screening several titles at once, Cosmo Vision can help move more content through that process while still following each customer’s requirements.
Stellar developed Cosmo Vision using research in multimodal video understanding. Instead of looking at video, dialogue, and subtitles separately, the technology analyzes them together to better understand the content and find potential issues.
Bringing AI Into the IFE Content Process
Cosmo Vision marks the first release under Cosmo, Stellar’s new family of AI technologies, with more already in development. The launch follows other technology investments Stellar has made in in-flight entertainment.
Earlier this year, the company partnered with Parrot Analytics to add audience demand data to the Stellar IFE Portal, helping airlines make more informed decisions about what content to offer. The two technologies support different parts of IFE, with Parrot Analytics helping airlines choose content and Cosmo Vision helping screen that content before it reaches passengers.
Cosmo Vision shows how AI can support work behind the scenes that passengers may never see. Movies and television shows still need to go through compliance screening before airlines can offer them onboard. For Stellar, AI can help make that work faster while keeping people involved, with Cosmo Vision flagging potential issues and allowing specialists to focus on the parts of a title that need a closer look.
“AI is changing in-flight entertainment, but our focus is on where it can solve real problems and improve the way the work gets done,” said Fagg. “Cosmo brings together the proprietary AI technology we are developing at Stellar, starting with Cosmo Vision and a more intelligent approach to compliance screening that keeps our people and our customers’ requirements at the center.”
