Leo The Bag Butler Is At Your Service
by Michele McDonald /
Someday, you’ll arrive at an airport and will be met by a robot, who will take your bags off your hands and print a bag tag for you.
Or, if you’re arriving at Geneva, it can happen now.
Say hello to Leo, a baggage robot developed by BlueBotics for SITA, an air transport technology company. He’s auditioning for a full-time job outside the airport’s Terminal 1.
Leo, who was named after Leonardo da Vinci, inventor of the first robot, rolls up as passengers approach the terminal. By touching his Scan&Fly bag drop interface, they can open his baggage compartment door and place their bags inside. Leo can hold two suitcases with a maximum weight of 32 kg., or 70 lbs.
The passengers scan their boarding passes, the tags are printed attached to the bag, and the door closes. Leo displays the boarding gate and departure time, and off he goes.
He takes the bags directly to the baggage handling area, where his door can be reopened only by the operator unloading the baggage in the airport. The bags are then sorted and connected to the correct flight.
Leo is fully autonomous and self-propelling, with an obstacle avoidance capability that enables him to navigate in a high-traffic environment.
SITA’s goal is to enable robots to process bags without ever having to enter the terminal building. That would mean fewer bags and trolleys entering the terminal, reducing congestion and making airport navigation easier.
That, in turn, would enable a busy airport like Geneva to accommodate more passengers without making them more uncomfortable.
In the future, robots like Leo could take on additional tasks, such as providing directions and helping passengers through security.