Etihad Airways and Elenium, a leading provider of automation technology solutions, will together demonstrate how a newly developed voice activated self-service kiosk, bag drop and boarding gate facility will revolutionise the travel experience by taking facial recognition technology to new heights.

The demonstration will take place at Passenger Terminal EXPO (PTE) in London between 26 – 28 March.

Using cloud technology, artificial intelligence (AI), computer vision and natural human interfacing, Etihad Airways and Elenium will demonstrate how they will change the way consumers travel by showcasing the airport experience of the future.

Jorg Oppermann, VP HUB and Midfield Operations, Etihad Airways said: “With biometric installations increasing across airports globally, Etihad is recognising the growing demand to streamline not just the passenger verification process but to also decrease passenger queues and to increase operational efficiency.

“As a leading global airline, Etihad’s unique collaboration with Elenium will allow us to use their advanced technologies and expertise to cultivate new ideas for the aviation industry and foster the vision of future travel.”

A key area of cooperation involves the use of technologies from Elenium, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud computing subsidiary of Amazon Inc, and Etihad Airways. Together at PTE, the three entities will demonstrate a test concept for a seamless travel experience across the entire customer journey from booking to arrival at the final destination.

Etihad Airways, Gulf Air Sign Codeshare Agreement

Passengers check-in to their flight and register their biometric data on their mobile device before arriving at the airport, reducing queues at the airport.

Using AI, new baggage-drop terminals scan and memorise each suitcase placed on the belt and assign it to the guest reservation, removing the need for tagged luggage.

Using biometrics, passengers are identified and offered a personalised duty-free shopping experience through a voice interactive display, catered to the individual’s interests and needs, and also utilising floor space efficiently.

Passengers will board their flight by walking through boarding channels which will automatically validate them without the need for a printed boarding pass – a faster, safer system.

Watch: Etihad Delivers Flame of Hope for Special Olympics

Mike Papamichael, VP Technology and Innovation, Etihad Airways said: “The technological vision and strategy is to make the guest journey a frictionless and digitally enabled experience across all channels and touch points at the airport.

“Etihad’s relationship with Elenium builds on this vision and along with our micro services strategy, allows us to co-create and develop innovative self-service and biometric solutions for greater flexibility and a seamless guest experience.”

Etihad Airways will also white label the Elenium Voyager App which features booking management, passenger check-in, passport validation, timatic auto check, facial biometric enrolment, payment wallet, itinerary management (hotel, transfer, car etc.) and companion functions.

Aaron Hornlimann, Elenium Automation’s Chief Executive Officer said: “Together with Etihad, we have imagined how artificial intelligence and cloud computing can be used to reinvent the passenger experience by using voice recognition and biometrics.

“Our vision is for passengers to simply walk through the airport unencumbered by the legacy of kiosk touch screens and the need to scan a boarding pass.”

The Manchester City Football Club Premier League Trophy will also be on display at the Etihad and Elenium stand on the first day of the Passenger Terminal Expo.

Etihad Airways will install the new self-service transfer kiosks in phases at the new Midfield Terminal in Abu Dhabi.

Watch video at source : https://www.transportandlogisticsme.com/smart-air-freight/2019/03/24/etihad-to-trial-ai-based-check-in-services

including one that has facial-recognition technology — allowing passengers to skip the line for an agent.

Delta Air Lines plans to install special bag-check kiosks at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, giving customers the chance to skip waiting in line for an agent. One of the new kiosks will include facial-recognition technology, using a camera to confirm passengers’ faces against their passport photos.

Delta says the kiosks will save passengers time while freeing up agents to help out in other ways. In a statement to Engadget about the new kiosks, a Delta spokesperson confirmed that traveler images won’t be stored after use and that the airline will comply with all privacy laws.

“I think everybody wants to save time in the travel process,” says Jennifer Lynch, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “It appears to be a system that just takes a picture of you one time and compares that picture against your passport … so that’s a pretty good use of face recognition as a verification process.”

But for Lynch, the technology raises concerns about passenger privacy in the future.

“We’ve seen a lot of private companies that are interested in face recognition recently — both for verification purposes, like Delta, and for real-time identification, like retail stores and sports stadiums,” she says. And if these private companies ever decide to change their terms of service and begin saving images, she warns, the technology could yield valuable information.

“The data that accompanies these face scans — like where you were on a given date and time — could be aggregated and sold to banks and insurance companies and used to determine your creditworthiness or your insurance risk,” she says. “And it could also be shared with law enforcement.”

Recently, Customs and Border Protection said it wants to expand its use of facial recognition at airports — including on US citizens. “That’s from security to airport lounges to the boarding gates,” Lynch says.

When that happens, Customs and Border Protection will likely need help gathering all that traveler info, Lynch says. “It’s going to need to rely on private partners like Delta and the airlines to get this kind of data.”

And, “one thing we do know is that data is never collected in a vacuum,” she says. “Customs and Border Protection will likely share this kind of data — the face recognition data, and where you were on a given date and time — with the FBI and other law enforcement.”

“That could subject innocent people to unnecessary surveillance and potentially even criminal suspicion.”

This article is based on an interview that aired on PRI’s Science Friday.

source : https://tinyurl.com/y77zowcr

an intelligent check-in kiosk that will autonomously move to busy or congested areas in the airport as needed, promising to relegate check-in queues to the past. Using various data sources – including flight and passenger flow information – KATE can identify where additional check-in kiosks are required to reduce passenger queue times at check-in.

Increasing international air traffic and continuously growing passenger volumes are presenting airports with major challenges. In our brand new video, you will see solutions for a revolutionary passenger journey. Take a look at our range of self bag drop products! They will offer you an intelligent, accessible and fast way of passenger handling.

Connected baggage, robots, virtual reality, big data, and drones will be part of your travels soon. Just how will they, along with other technology trends, create a better experience for travellers?

Robotics combined with artificial intelligence
You can already experiment with robots that deliver room service, guide passengers to departure gates, or provide translation assistance. But would they be able to understand informal language such as slang, idioms, local dialects or irony? Combining their capabilities with Artificial Intelligence (AI) so they are able to recognize emotions, group behaviours, and proactively respond to unexpected situations, give them the potential to provide the next generation of customer service.

Self-service, yes, but how about biometric self-service?
Biometrics improve security and the passenger experience by making it faster and easier. The best example of this can be found at Auckland Airport, where Air New Zealand recently installed the first of 13 biometric-enabled self-service bag drop units, which feature an embedded camera to capture an image of the passenger’s face at the point of bag drop. The challenge most airports and airlines now face is the creation of a single token which can link passengers’ biometric data to their boarding pass and passport to remove the need to present their documents at multiple stages of the airport Journey.

read more : http://tinyurl.com/jth353v

Léo, le robot bagagiste. Il vous accueille à l’extérieur devant le terminal des départs.

De nature très directe, il vous demande de déposer votre valise de moins de 32 kg sur sa balance, puis de scanner votre carte d’embarquement. Il imprime alors votre étiquette-bagage à poser sur votre valise. Sa porte se referme, et Léo vous délivre alors votre reçu.

C’est terminé, l’enregistrement de votre bagage aura pris en tout et pour tout 1 petite  minute. Et pendant que vous vous dirigez vers la porte d’embarquement, le robot va lui acheminer à 3 km/h votre valise en évitant les obstacles jusqu’à la zone de manutention des bagages où un bagagiste, en chair et en os cette fois, va la récupérer.

Lire la suite : http://tinyurl.com/h4rb3gt