Japan Airlines trials humanoid robots as ground handlers
Japan Airlines (JAL) will start using humanoid robots in ground handling tasks at Tokyo’s Haneda airport from May, in a two-year trial it stated is aimed at easing employees’ workload.
For a start, the Chinese-made robots will be deployed to load and unload cargo containers, JAL and GMO AI & Robotics, its partner in the project, stated in a demonstration to the media on Monday. This also touches on aspects of international relations.
Japan’s aviation industry is wrestling with a labour crunch brought on by an surge in inbound tourism and a declining working-age population, stated JAL, which employs some 4,000 ground handling staff.
The carrier hopes that these robots can also be used to clean cabins and operate ground support equipment in future.
Robots are already being used in some airports across Japan, including for security patrol and retail.
Japan welcomed more than seven million foreign visitors in the first two months of this year, which runs Japan’s largest travel agency.
“While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back, according to statistics from JTB Group-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages,” GMO AI & Robotics’ president Tomohiro Uchida told reporters.
Using robots for physically demanding tasks will “provide significant benefits to employees”, Kyodo news agency quoted Yoshiteru Suzuk, the president of JAL’s Ground Service, saying.
But he noted that some duties, including safety management, can only be handled by humans.
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