Imagine you’ve checked out of your hotel and now have a couple of hours to kill in a foreign city before you take the next flight out. But suddenly you realize that you have two heavy suitcases to lug around, and give up on the idea of exploring. Then there is also the hassle of carrying all that stuff for your month-long vacation. What about that extra baggage that you know airlines will charge you for?

Not anymore. A trolley-load of new luggage services have appeared in recent years, trying to disrupt a staid market with promises of revolutionary ways to carry, or not carry, that dreaded suitcase.

Dubz

Dubz is a luggage pickup, storage and delivery service in Dubai, offering travelers time and comfort by getting bags picked up or dropped off, stored, and even checked in! Through the DUBZ website, travellers can arrange a pick-up, and have their luggage checked in and collected by a dnata agent from their home or hotel anywhere in Dubai, allowing travelers to then enjoy their day baggage-free. Users can then save time by skipping baggage drop-off and check-in queues at the airport, with their boarding pass and baggage tags provided on the spot.

Airportr

Based in London since 2014, Airportr picks up luggage anywhere inside the M25, and drops it off at either Gatwick or Heathrow airports. In 2016 in London, they launched Bag Check-In with British Airways. They moved the bag drop desk online, allowing travellers to give luggage to their professional drivers at their front door. So now, when travellers fly with one of their partner airlines, they can check in bags on the doorstep. No time-wasting. No lugging. No stressing.

LugLess

The startup’s tag line “travel without the baggage” is appropriate. LugLess is a travel agent for luggage. They are a door-to-door luggage shipping service that picks up a traveller’s luggage from their home, office, or hotel and sends it directly to wherever they are going ahead of time anywhere in USA and over 200 countries worldwide. They allow customers to bypass baggage fees, waiting in check-in lines, help them go through security faster, and help them avoid baggage claim and prospect of lost luggage. They are also sometimes less expensive that what airlines charge on the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th bag for baggage fees.

Bagshuttle

This German startup picks up a traveller’s luggage from their desired address and has it delivered wherever they want. Simply enter your destination, make the payment
and you´ll receive your personal Bagshuttle confirmation. Upon arrival, they pick up your luggage personally or store it at their partners´ storage locations. When departing, they pick up your luggage from the desired address. Travellers can then go on bag-free to a business meeting or on a sightseeing tour. Meanwhile, Bagshuttle picks up your luggage and delivers it to your desired destination.

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Smart airports are all set to take over the travel industry.

With the advent of the era of robotics, biometric check-in and augmented reality, airports across the world, particularly Asia, are now promising to to make passenger travel experience more efficient and comfortable. According to Zion Market Research, Global Smart Airports market is set for rapid growth, and will reach around $17.19 billion by 2022.

Here’s a list of some of the top and latest technologies in Asia-Pacific airports.

Japan

Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport is already planning to introduce eight fast travel features to provide passengers with better services. These include the introduction of new technology at the check-in and security gates. Haneda already allows passengers to check in and obtain their boarding passes through automated self-service counters, print and attach their own baggage tags, use dedicated bag-drop options, and self-scan their boarding passes at self-boarding gates.

Moreover, a fleet of humanoid ‘Pepper robots’ was sent out among passengers at the airport in February to cope with the surge of Chinese tourists arriving for the Spring Festival holidays. The Pepper robots were programmed to communicate in English and Chinese, and to provide information on access to gates as well as dining facilities, retail outlets and public toilets. Earlier, Haneda had deployed another robot variant, the humanoid EMIEW3, to reply to questions from travellers.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong airport is seeking to transform the passenger journey into a fully automated and self-serviced process. The self-bag drop service was first introduced in 2016. To date, 120 self-bag drop counters have been installed in the airport.

Since end-2017, the airport has introduced iCUSS mobile check-in kiosks for travellers to complete their check-in procedures anywhere, from the airport terminals to external locations such as hotels, theme parks and conference centres. The entire check-in process is now more efficient for passengers.

It is also set to roll out biometric technology services from late-2018 onwards. By showing their passports and having their faces scanned at check-in, travellers will soon get through security and immigration checkpoints for boarding without having to produce their passports repeatedly. The HKG My Flight mobile app recently added an augmented reality (AR) navigation function, which guides passengers towards facilities at the airport with instructions overlaid in camera view and terminal signage in users’ own languages. It has also launched MyTAG, a smart luggage tag that notifies passengers on their smartphones when their checked bags arrive at the baggage reclaim carousel.

Hong Kong’s MyTAG

South Korea

Incheon International Airport’s new Terminal 2 was opened in January for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, with a focus on technology and innovation to enhance the passenger experience. The latest addition to Incheon is reportedly going to be the Chatbot, which is a talking robot that interacts with passengers, featuring a message programme that enables it to communicate information about the airport’s facilities to travellers.

Image source: TTGAsia

A portable biometric security system was also piloted at Incheon earlier this year, and is expected to be rolled out throughout the airport by summer 2019. Earlier this year, remote check-in facilities at bus and train stations were rolled out in central Seoul and across South Korea. This new system enables passengers to check in their luggage and obtain their travel documents prior to their arrival at the airport.

Malaysia

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad’s (MAHB) digital transformation strategy involves the use of big data analytics and the Internet of Things to improve the passenger experience and operational efficiency at the five international gateways, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), and 16 domestic airports it manages.

MAHB is also going to team up with information management specialist OpenText to innovate KLIA and klia2 operations, including developing intelligent automation, predictive analytics and expanded digital services at both terminals.

In early June, MAHB introduced the MYairports mobile app, an airport travel guide, under its Airports 4.0 digital initiative supported with a RM30 million (US$7.5 million) investment. MYairports allows passengers to plan their journey, providing users with real-time flight updates, shopping and dining promotions. Additionally, airport services such as self-check-in and self-bag drop facilities and passengers’ authenticity can be verified as well.

Singapore

The opening of Terminal 4 (T4) at the Singapore Changi Airport last year was a huge deal in the tech space. The terminal debuted the airport’s Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) system that offers end-to-end self-service options for passengers. This includes automated check-in kiosks, baggage drop using facial recognition and Xbox Kinect-powered 3D modelling technology, as well as immigration and boarding gates that share facial and thumbprint biometric data.

Following T4’s footsteps, Terminal 1’s (T1) departure, arrival and baggage claim halls are also currently being upgraded to replace check-in counters and implement FAST. T1’s baggage handling system will also become fully automated with sorting capability to support automated check-in and automated bag-drop functions. An automated early baggage storage facility will also be implemented.

More work is underway for lifestyle complex Jewel Changi Airport, which will have a range of play attractions, indoor garden trails and F&B outlets. To top this, will be the launch of the Canopy Park that will feature attractions such as sky nets, hedge and mirror mazes, trees and palms, and dining outlets.

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We have all, at some point of time, faced issues finding our way through an airport. Whether it’s because it was our first time, or there were last-minute cancellations, delays, or gate switches; we have all found ourselves running around in circles forever. To avoid the hassle, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has come up with what could possibly be the world’s cutest blue robot that will help make that trip from security to your boarding gate a little less hectic.

The robot, called Care-E, will meet travellers at the security checkpoint and take them wherever they need to go with the carry-on luggage on its back. Though Care-E is the product of a Dutch airline, you won’t need to speak Dutch, or English, to operate the robot.

To start a trip with the robot, it will prompt travellers to scan their boarding pass through non-verbal sounds and cues on its screen. KLM will launch the device at New York’s JFK and San Francisco’s International airports before the company decides if it will provide the service elsewhere.

From there, according to KLM, the robot can carry up to 85 pounds of luggage and travel alongside at about 3 mph (the average human walking pace), so it’s probably not the best if you’re running late and need to dash through the terminal to catch your flight. However, if you’re early, you can use it for free with a two-day demo trial. KLM expects the robot guide to launch in either July or August.

The technology

The AI technology that Care-E deploys will help it access real-time data. For example, it’ll know if your gate changes and be able to redirect accordingly. The Care-E will be looped into a proprietary API for flight info and have access to a full GPS database of the airport as well. That means that if a traveller’s gate changes, the trolley will know and redirect to that location. A LiDAR sensor array provides collision and obstacle avoidance, while also mapping the environment in 2D. And because KLM wanted to make sure the Care-E is a safe trolley, there are a total of 8 Ultrasonic Rangefinder (five on the front and three on the back) for peripheral collision avoidance. An RGB-D Camera acts as the boarding pass scanner and handles the body detection and tracking. A majority of this tech is located on the front piece or the rear bumper.

Check out how it works-

There have been some companies before KLM who have tried to develop smart airport devices, but have repeatedly failed, mostly due to airport policy changes on batteries. For instance, smart luggage startup Raden announced in May that it had shut down. However, Care-E has an entire airport ready to support the device so it could have an advantage over its past competition.

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