Say Hello to the New Era of Airport Robots
20th-century science-fiction authors imagined a future where we cohabited with humanoid robots, and they were right. But they did not imagine one thing: that the first places where humans and humanoids interacted would be airports.
Robots now do things like scan boarding passes and provide duty free shopping advice. For many people, this will be the very first chance to interact in an everyday context with robots designed to mimic human behavior.
Many of us have cleaning robots at home, of course. They are able to roam around, avoiding furniture and any other obstacle — and that's kind of like one of the robots you'll find at Seoul Incheon airport, one of the busiest in the world. With 57 million passengers per year and thousands of moving objects at any one time, ICN is a tough debut for the cleaning robot made by South Korea's LG Electronics, which looks like a curvier version of Star Wars’ famous R2D2 and has been doing its job at the airport for more than a year.
The Airbot has a slightly taller sibling that focuses on providing guidance and advice to passengers. It is able to scan boarding passes and provide answers about things such as flight status and location of boarding gates.
In order to give it a more human appearance, LG engineers have fitted this guide robot with a “face” of sorts, as well as with voice recognition technology capable of handling the top four languages spoken at Incheon airport: Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese.
That is reminiscent of Spencer, the cute, smiling robot that KLM tested at Amsterdam Schiphol airport (AMS) in 2016 to help passengers find their way through this busy hub. One of the stated aims was not just to test a promising technology in a real airport setting, but also to assess how human passengers would react when they had to interact with a robot.
Although that was a one-off experiment, KLM has persevered with its robotic initiatives. In July the Dutch carrier unveiled Care-E, a self-driving trolley capable of moving up to 85 pounds of luggage at 3mph. To make interaction with humans more empathic, Care-E is able to emit non-verbal sounds in response to stimuli and has a set of lights that imitate eye movement. Care-E will be tested at JFK and San Francisco International (SFO) this year, with the specific dates yet to be announced.
Another airport where passengers are able to interact with robots is Delhi International (DEL) in India. This July, Vistara, a private Indian airline, has deployed its own robot at Vistara’s Signature Lodge at Terminal 3. The robot, called RADA, has been developed by Tata Innovation Lab (Vistara is jointly owned by Indian conglomerate Tata and Singapore Airlines.)
RADA has a chassis with four wheels enabling it to rotate 360 degrees, and three built-in cameras that give it awareness of its surroundings. It uses AI technology to address passengers’ queries after scanning their boarding passes, such as departure gates, flight status and weather at destination.
Interestingly it also has an entertainment aspect, as it is able not just to greet passengers as they come into the lounge, but also play games, music and other audiovisual content for them.
When it comes to anthropomorhic looks, though, there's a clear winner: Josie Pepper, the robot operated by Lufthansa at its Munich (MUC) hub. Developed by French company Softbank Robotics, this 42-inch tall, English-speaking humanoid has been meeting and greeting passengers at key airport spot, the ramp leading to the satellite terminal shuttle. The airport decided to give it a gender — female — and a name that it says is inspired by the airport's, which is called Franz Josef Strauss after the longtime Bavarian leader.
One of its defining features is that its artificial intelligence technology allows it to work without pre-scripted answers, and it keeps learning with each new interaction.
True, some of these projects may still feel like something of a publicity stunt. But, as happens often when the adoption of new, disruptive technologies accelerates, we're likely to see a lot more airport robots soon, and we'll see them do more and more useful things.
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- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
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Why We Chose It
There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)Pros
- 4 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (on the first $50,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter and $25,000 in purchases per calendar year; then 1 point per dollar spent thereafter, respectively)
- 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
- Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
- Solid welcome bonus
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
- Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.