The next time your bags go missing on an airline flight, you may be tempted to blame it on a robot. Japan Airlines (JAL) begins a two-year field test starting this May of humanoids assisting in ground operations like baggage handling at Haneda Airport. This marks one of the first instances of humanoids being slated for more taxing physical jobs in the aviation industry rather than ones with a service orientation.

The experiment is being jointly run by JAL and the GMO AI & Robotics Corporation (GMO Air) with the latter seeming to position itself as a robot staffing service. The humanoid used in a media demonstration appeared to be the G1 model made by Unitree, a Chinese company. GMO Air’s website suggests that it has a robot roster encompassing humanoids of varying sizes and capabilities. The roster includes humanoids designated as the Ubtech Walker E, the PM01, and the Booster K1. The Unitree G1 stands at about 4-foot-3-inches tall, moves at 4.5 mph and has a two-hour run time from its battery. The G1 also has 23 degrees of movement, navigation sensors and cameras and a foldable design for easy storage.

Photo credit: JAL

GMO Air will handle the physical AI aspects as well as the motion programming optimized for an airport environment. JAL believes humanoids are best suited for an airport workplace as they are more operationally flexible than fixed automated facilities or single-purpose robots. Human-shaped robots also are able to maneuver more effectively amidst existing infrastructure designed with humans in mind, particularly when it comes to operating variously sized ground support equipment in tight spaces. 

JAL says its humanoid initiative is prompted by a labor shortage coupled with an increase in tourism and a decline in Japan’s working-age population. JAL expects humanoids to ultimately take over additional airline-specific tasks like cabin cleaning and cargo container handling currently done with manual human labor. Haneda Airport serves 60 million passengers annually.