JAL, GMO To Test Using Humanoid Robots For Airport Ground Operations

TOKYO, April 27 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan Airlines Co. and GMO Internet Group Inc. will launch a demonstration experiment using humanoid robots to move passengers' luggage at Tokyo's Haneda airport in May to verify their potential for achieving labour efficiency in ground handling operations, Kyodo News reported.

The project, which is scheduled to run through 2028, comes as travel demand expands, driven partly by growing inbound tourism, while labour shortages in airport ground operations are likely to become more severe as Japan's population continues to age.

The demonstration, the first such initiative in Japan, will be led by a JAL subsidiary responsible for handling ground operations, including unloading cargo and guiding aircraft on the ground, and a GMO group company that promotes the social implementation of artificial intelligence and robotics.

JAL Ground Service Co. president Yoshiteru Suzuki said replacing physically demanding tasks with robots "is likely to inevitably reduce workers' burden, providing significant benefits to employees", noting there are tasks, including safety management, that can only be handled by humans.

"While airports appear highly automated and standardised, their back-end operations still rely heavily on human labour and face serious labour shortages," GMO AI & Robotics Corp. president Tomohiro Uchida said, adding his company aims to help address the shortage through the use of humanoid robots.

The two sides plan to expand use of robots to other areas, including aircraft cabin cleaning, in the future.

The experiment will use China-made humanoid robots that can currently operate continuously for two to three hours.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO