A new imperial looking robot with a friendly but unstirring ‘face’ has been developed to help lost passengers find their way around a busy airport.
A new robot was made to guide lost passengers at Airport. A new imperial looking robot with a friendly but unstirring ‘face’ has been developed to help lost passengers find their way around a busy airport.
Researchers said, “The robot will be tested over the course of one week, starting tomorrow, at Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport. Achim Lilienthal, Professor of computer science and project leader of Orebro University’s contribution to the research project said, “Navigating an airport is challenging, there is a lot of glass and a constantly changing environment in terms of temporary obstructions, such as parked luggage trolleys and people everywhere”.
The stately looking robot with its friendly but unstirring “face” will be guiding passengers, unfamiliar to navigating international airports, from one gate to another. Researchers from Orebro have equipped the robot with a prerequisite for navigation – maps. The robot then surveys its surroundings by measuring the distance to various obstructions using laser beams.
Lilienthal said, “We are working on a general map representation that includes and allows the robot to handle temporarily permanent objects. This technology can be used in all robots intended to interact with humans. Autonomous trucks for example, would be more widely accepted if they functioned better in their interaction with humans.