Baggage handling at airports

Every time I fly, I am struck by how archaic airport baggage handling still is. Sure, the airline industry is infamous for maintaining its legacy Fortran and Cobol software, but that’s because aviation is a pioneer in using computers to run its operations. Meanwhile, baggage handling remains a bottleneck in air travel because the process is highly manual and inefficient (except for using the same conveyor system that seems to have been in use since 1971).

When robots take over (or assist with) baggage handling, overall passenger satisfaction is likely to improve. Increased use of robots to solve such low-stakes bottleneck problems may also help the public perception of robots.

evoBot looks like one of the robots that can solve this problem. The robot achieves excellent balance using an inverted pendulum design, and can reach speeds of 37 mph and carry over 220 pounds. Pretty impressive.

Not shown in the video, but it can also lift luggage off the ground and deliver it to its destination (airplane or the 1971 conveyor belt). Munich Airport seems to have tested it already. I hope to see it in action soon.