KGUN 9NewsLocal News

Actions

New robot will carry your luggage & more at the airport

Posted at 8:03 AM, Jul 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-12 11:03:43-04

Lugging your bags throughout an airport is all part of the traveling experience, but KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is in the process of giving you a hand. 

Care-E, a bright-blue "self-driving trolley," is being tested now, and will be rolled out at New York's JFK and San Francisco International airports sometime this year.

The little bot can carry up to 85 lbs. of luggage, scan your boarding pass, travel alongside you at about 3 miles per hour, and even inform you if your flight has been moved to a different gate. 

Unfortunately, there are still certain things the robot cannot do, like grab you a snack or tell the kid behind you to stop kicking your seat, but Care-E is still a work in progress. 

In order to community with Care-E the robot you won't need to speak Dutch, or English, for that matter.

According to KLM, the baggage bot uses "a variety of familiar nonverbal sounds" to interact with travelers.  

KLM is no stranger to robotics either. 

Robot Spencer was the company's previous experiment, which completed tests in 2016, but it was unable to carry your luggage.