Overview
If you're flying out of Sydney Airport with Air New Zealand this week, the experience might be a little different to what you're used to. The airline is trialling a new kind of employee.
On loan from the Commonwealth Bank, a humanoid robot called Chip will be getting around the airport as part of a five-day experiment, interacting with customers, giving directions and even assisting with check-ins. A video released by the airline shows Chip communicating through a screen in his chest, and even scanning boarding passes with his eyes. Way cooler than those boring self-service check-in kiosks.
Up until now, Chip's been spending most of his days hanging out with students and academics at CBA's Sydney Innovation Lab, so his time at the airport will both give him valuable 'real world' practice and help Air New Zealand explore ways of enhancing the customer travel experience.
"The airport is a busy and often overcrowded environment with signs, instructions and messages every which way you look," Air New Zealand chief digital officer Avi Golan explained in the video. "Our customers can feel overwhelmed. The experiment is about bringing information to life, through innovative technologies."
Chip will be at Sydney Airport until today, Friday, August 25. Let's see if any Aussie airlines follow suit.
Via The NZ Herald. Image: Air New Zealand/YouTube.