How are Boeing, potatoes, and Wi-Fi signals related? We bring you an article about an interesting and somewhat bizarre experiment that Boeing conducted years ago.
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It may sound like a bad joke, but it's true: in 2012, American aircraft manufacturer Boeing actually used potatoes instead of people to test the quality of its onboard Wi-Fi connection. As part of a unique experiment, the company filled the seats of a decommissioned aircraft with huge sacks of potatoes. In total, 9 kilograms of these humble tubers made it into the cabin.
The ideal passenger
Why potatoes? Boeing engineers explained that potatoes can interact with electromagnetic signals in a similar way to the human body. In other words, a potato behaves almost like a human when it comes to Wi-Fi signal propagation. What's more, unlike passengers, they never get bored, nestThey move from the seat and do not interfere with the testing process.
Boeing engineer Dennis Lewis said in connection with this unconventional testing that passengers understandably want their Wi-Fi connection to work on the plane regardless of which seat they occupy, but the signal can vary depending on where the device is located.
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In the confined space of an airplane, wireless signals behave unpredictably—they bounce off surfaces and change depending on the movement of people in the cabin. This results in some places having excellent signal strength while others barely picking up a connection. To accurately map the behavior of the signal, Boeing needed “passengers” who would remain motionless on the plane for several days. Potatoes proved to be an ideal substitute.
The aforementioned testing helped developers optimize the placement of antennas and ensure that Wi-Fi would work as reliably as possible in all parts of the cabin – while not interfering with other onboard systems. The report also caught the attention of the British Potato Council, which reminded us that potatoes are an often underestimated raw material with a variety of uses. Outside of the food industry, they are used, for example, in the production of paper, textiles, cosmetics and even as a source of energy.
The bad-mouths might be of the opinion that Boeing, considering the safety of its aircraft, should not transport anything more than those sacks of potatoes. And it seems that it is a match and as a customer the potato would suit Boeing as well... It has similar properties and its potato family will not complain after the crash nor will it need to be paid.