Customer Service Robot Debuts at Indy Airport...
Robot makes big bang at Indy Airport
John Tuohy, john.tuohy@indystar.com 9:28 a.m. EDT October
10, 2014
Ever feel like you're talking to a robot when you try to
get questions answered at the airport?
Well, now you really will be.
Indianapolis International Airport on Thursday rolled out
a customer-service robot to help answer passenger questions. The bot will
complement its guest services desk but not replace it.
Indy's airport is the first in the nation to use the
system, and officials say it solidifies the airport's reputation as one of the
most user-friendly.
Called Double Robot, it will allow airport agents to
interact with passengers through an iPad, propped on top of a roller wearing a
customer-service shirt — sort of a Segway with a video-screen head.
The robot costs $2,500, plus the price of the head, er
... iPad. It is made by Double Robotics.
On the first day of its full rollout Thursday, passenger
reaction ranged from perplexed to pleased.
Guest services director Brian Eckstein drove the robot
remotely through the baggage claim area, his face visible on the screen and his
voice piping cheerfully through a speaker. He greeted passengers in real time
and asked if they needed help. A camera lens on the iPad gave him a wide view
of the surroundings in front of him.
Most passers-by smiled but thought the robot was simply a
greeter, rather than an answer man. Others thought it was a new airport
security device.
When Cliff Willms, 62, of Sioux City, Iowa, was told he
could ask Eckstein questions, he said he wasn't ready to take that step yet.
"I'd rather ask a human a question, than a
machine," Willms said. "At this point, I'm good with just gawking at
it."
But Sanders Hickey, 59, of Atlanta, Ga., said the robot
was "a great ambassador for the airport."
"It's as cute as can be," said Hickey, who made
small talk with Eckstein's head. "If my friend hadn't picked me up, I
would have no problem asking it for directions. In fact, I made a new friend in
Brian."
A robot that uses a tablet computer to talk to real
people isn't as unusual as it might sound. Some passengers mentioned an episode
of "The Big Bang Theory," in which a character named Sheldon decides
to stay home in his apartment and live vicariously through "Shelbot."
He rigs up the robot with a tablet that projects his image and voice, as he
tours the city and hangs out with friends.
Airport spokesman Carlo Bertolini said their robot will
be rolled to different parts of the airport, so passengers don't have to go all
the way to the guest services area in the main concourse.
"We've experimented with it at the gates and other
places," Bertolini said. "It seems especially useful to people who
want to know where to catch taxis or shuttle buses."
The robot also will be used when the guest desk is
closed. The counter is staffed from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. Sunday through Friday
and Saturdays 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"This initiative combines our staff's longstanding
commitment to traditional Hoosier Hospitality with an innovative technology
that can multiply its benefits," Michael Wells, president of the
Indianapolis Airport Authority board, said in a news release.
The employees at the airport will soon hold a contest to
give the robot a name.
How about anything but Shelbot?
Call reporter John Tuohy at 444-6418 and follow on
Twitter @john_tuohy.
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