Boeing filled a plane with 9 tonnes of potatoes in 2012 to test cabin wifi
In 2012, Boeing engineers replaced passengers with about 20,000 pounds of potatoes (roughly 9,072 kilos) to measure how wifi signals propagate inside a retired aircraft. Human bodies absorb and reflect electromagnetic waves, so coverage varies by seat and by movement on board. The potatoes' high water content, close to 80%, mimicked that effect. The project was called SPUDS and cut tests that previously took more than two weeks down to ten hours.
In 35 seconds
- Boeing used about 9,072 kilos of potatoes instead of passengers to study cabin wifi.
- The potatoes' water content, close to 80%, mimicked how bodies absorb and reflect signals.
- The project was named SPUDS, for Synthetic Personnel Using Dielectric Substitution.
IASummary generated by artificial intelligence from a story by Xataka. It may contain errors: the original source prevails.




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