If only there was some way to speed up the security screening line at the airport … Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is hoping it may have found one. Recently, passengers departing from the airport may have seen a robot providing tips for getting through security faster. Advice was provided through audio in English and through on-screen animated instruction in six different languages, reminding passengers to remove scarves, jackets and belts before going through screening.
Sea-Tac will test the pilot program, according to a release, by seeing how many times passengers trigger the body scanner alarm during and after the robot test. The release insists that the robot is not meant to replace Transportation Security Administration workers, rather augment the work of humans, allowing them to spend more time on critical security tasks.
Sea-Tac isn’t the first airport to utilize robots to enhance the experience of passengers passing through. Mineta San Jose International Airport in California used very similar looking robots to the ones Sea-Tac is utilizing to offer directions, take a selfie with, or even dance.
In anticipation of the Winter Olympics next year Incheon International Aiport near Seoul, South Korea, recently started using Troika, a self-driving robot that will tell travelers how long it takes to get to their gate and even escort them to their flights and another jumbo-sized robot that will help clean the floors. Tokyo’s Haneda Airport also tried the EMIEW3 robot to help guide travelers around Japan’s busiest airport.
