Japan tests humanoid robots to transport luggage at airport

The Japanese airline Japan Airlines will begin integrating humanoid robots into the teams responsible for transporting baggage at Haneda Airport.

According to The Guardian newspaper, the robots, measuring around 1.30 meters tall, were developed by the Chinese company Unitree and should begin operating in early May. The initiative is part of a pilot project, scheduled to last until 2028, with the aim of helping to deal with the increase in tourism in Japan.

The definitive adoption of the technology will only be assessed after the testing period. Still, given the projections of labor shortages, the expectation is that, if the experiment is successful, robots will become part of operations permanently.

The equipment can operate continuously for two to three hours. In the future, the idea is to expand the use of these “collaborators” to other functions, such as cleaning aircraft cabins.

Speaking to the press, the president of JAL Ground Service, Yoshiteru Suzuki, stated that robots will be responsible for heavier tasks and will “inevitably reduce the burden on workers and offer significant benefits to employees”.

The president of Japan Airlines GMO Internet Group, Tomohiro Uchida, highlighted that the initiative can help address the lack of workers in the sector.

“Although airports appear to be highly automated and standardized, internal operations still rely heavily on human labor and deal with a serious labor shortage,” he said.