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New Swiss Robot Assists Travelers with Luggage (securitymagazine.com)
A Swiss airport is testing a robot named Leo which can carry a passenger's luggage once they're approaching the terminal. Leo's baggage compartment opens when passengers press his 'Scan & Fly' touch interface, which can also print luggage tags and display a departure time and boarding gate, before delivering their luggage to a baggage handler. The airport's head of IT said the new robot "limits the number of bags in the airport terminal, helping us accommodate a growing number of passengers without compromising the airport experience inside the terminal." And the robot's developer says it proves that robotics "hold the key to more effective, secure and smarter baggage handling and is major step towards further automating bag handling in airports."
Will Leo expect a $10 tip for carrying my bags?
Now you don't even have to carry your bomb ^H^H^H^H^H luggage to the terminal Slip it in Leo and walk away.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
https://www.sita.aero/imagevault/publishedmedia/p6dlj26wn7zp3umzuz9x/leo-baggage-robot-geneva-airport-766x340.jpg
No need to read any of it, really.
The robots don't take to kindly, of the TSA fondling them.
The main advantage in the article sounds like it is to ease congestion in the airport. When I picture each large bag (or two bags) replaced by a larger robot, I can only imagine congestion getting worse. Plus, the robots appear in the video to move slower than a typical traveler.
It sure would be nice to include a link to an article with a picture of the robot, at least.
Perish the thought that we could not have the full "airport experience". I'm so glad that carrying my bags doesn't distract me anymore from being fondled and molested and standing in queue for 3+ hours, an "experience" like no others.
I'm SO grateful that someone finally took care of the REAL problems we have at airports!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The airport's head of IT said the new robot "limits the number of bags in the airport terminal, helping us accommodate a growing number of passengers without compromising the airport experience inside the terminal
What the fuck is there to compromise in the airport experience?
Let's summarize shall we:
- Arrive at the airport. Park at the super-uber-overpriced airport parking lot - or pay the super-uber-overpriced cab driver.
- Enter the terminal. From here on, you can't smoke or vape - so sneak a quick one before entering.
- Find your friggin' check-in desk. Despite arriving 3h early, there's a million tourists with too many luggages and no mastery of english whatsoever already waiting in line.
- It's your turn: lift the fucking luggage onto the scale - pay an extra $100 because it's 2 grams overweight.
- Get entered into the airline database. Get issued a stupid e-ticket printed on 40g thermal toilet paper. Pray you don't lose it.
- Rush to the security area. There, the million tourists who were waiting in line to check in are now waiting in line to get groped by TSA perverts, like cattle at the slaughterhouse.
- It's finally your turn. You almost want to be groped at this point, to be done with it and go get a coffee.
- Find a coffee shop. Pay $15 for something black and watery the shop calls coffee.
- Find your gate. Sit at your gate with the million tourists who think it's the holiday of a lifetime.
- Realize the gate has changed, you didn't notice and your flight departs in 3 minutes 50 gates away.
- Rush like a madman. Find the gate closed. Miss your flight.
What is there to redeem in the airport experience? Really? The only people who have a nice airport experience are those who fly private jets, because they don't go through the fucking airport in the first place.
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
Go check the video on youtube. It just so nothing more than carry bag to the belt and someone had to pick up and drop. So it does not add real value, looks more of something to show off when whole world is on to autonomous driving. Hey me too, with no purpose or value!!!
You can already do exactly the same thing by walking 50 meters farther. You scan your boarding pass; it prints your luggage tags and a receipt; you attach them and put your luggage on the conveyor belt. So all the robot really does is to save you 50 meters of schlepping your luggage. Of course, you do not have to wait on line for the robot, as it is experimental and people do not line up to use it. But if the robot were to become popular, then you would have to wait to use one, just as you have to wait to use the self-service luggage registering. The minimal added value of the robot would be greater if it could take your luggage while you are in the bus or on the train ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT! I note that the trains already cooperate for baggage checking in advance, so this should not be an issue with them. What about the bus or tram? Can the TPG also cooperate with the airport?
Cue the /. comments how this development requires UBI to 'take care' of the poor language handlers in Geneva. Of-course Switzerland just voted down an attempt at UBI in a democratic referendum, 78% against the UBI.
I discuss why UBI is the wrong idea in a few posts and there is an obvious backlash from the usual suspects here.
You can't handle the truth.
So it's really, a self-driving trolley that brings a self-check-in terminal to you. Corporations want to export the US travel pork-barreling, sorry experience. Which is standing in line for a mandated 3 hours, getting groped, getting an e-tablet stolen by a crooked TSA employee, and avoiding any activity which may be called 'suspicious' and result in being kicked off the plane. This robot doesn't enable any of that so it's not useful.
[in robot voice] "Allow me to assist you with your luggage. Please place your luggage in the compartment and close the door." [substantial shredding noise] "You may pick up your luggage at your final destination. Here is your receipt. Please be sure to log on and take our satisfaction survey."
It runs on clockwork, of course, and comes with hundreds of little, useful tools, such as knife blades, saws etc, all made to the highest standards.
Too bad Sir Terry Pratchett is no longer with us to see The Luggage for real. It's already somewhat sapient, but does it come with a pearwood finish?
Nae king! Nae laird! Nae yurrupiean pressedent! We willna be fooled again!
If you've ever been to Geneva and tried to catch the next Lufthanza (oh, sorry, Swissair) flight to Frankfurt, you get to join the maelstrom of passengers fighting to drop off your luggage (and probably check in, too). So this sounds like a good idea at first, but Geneva is a ridiculously small airport and notion of a few hundred bagbots stumbling through an already seething throng of frustrated passengers can only lead to disaster. Has anyone done an operational analysis of this? Perhaps hiring more counter staff and a more reliable check-in process would help. Sheesh.
Thank you for that.