SkyView Helps Fliers Avoid Gadget-Related Neck Strain

Walk down the aisle of any airplane and you’ll see passengers in a pose best described as “gadget crane”: necks bent downward at an acute angle so they can view their tablets or phones in their hands or resting on tray tables. Bryan McClain and Demetrius Madrigal have invented the SkyView Travel Tray Mount, an accessory meant to help fliers juggle their drinks and devices without straining their necks. SkyView hooks over the plastic latch of the tray table and can support the weight of an attached mobile device. While the idea is simple, the pair’s winding, years-long journey from conception to marketplace speaks to the sometimes quirky nature of invention.

McClain and Madrigal met at San Jose State University while pursuing master’s degrees in experimental psychology. They bonded over their studies of communication patterns in hostage situations and went on to train policemen around the world in negotiation techniques. In 2005, after struggling to keep that business going, they founded Metric Lab, a tech design firm that has consulted on products for Microsoft, EBay, BAE Systems, and NASA. They put their behavior research to work, camping out at homes and taking notes as residents handled their remotes or computers. “We look for things that take a lot of time or that frustrate people,” says McClain. “They might not even notice the frustration, but we notice.”