Kian Gould, CEO and Founder of AOE, talking about Digitalizing the Global Travel Retail World at Global Retailing Conference 2018. Talk topic: “Global Travel Retail: Digitally disrupted or digitally evolved?”

Hamad International Airport (HIA) and SITA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which provides the framework for the two companies to implement or trial biometrics, robots, blockchain, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology solutions at the Doha hub airport.

The main focus of the MoU is to advance HIA’s plans to implement seamless identity management across all key passenger touch-points using biometrics. The formalisation of the partnership follows last year’s pilot of biometric exit checks.

It has also been revealed that SITA will be supplying and commissioning 62 of its latest-generation common-use check-in kiosks with self-tagging capabilities, as well as e-gates prior to border control in departures. Initially, three kiosks and e-gates will be able to use biometric technology to identify passengers, while biometric sensors and readers can be added to the others at a later date.

Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer, Hamad International Airport, said: “HIA’s efforts towards innovation and its strategic alliances with key partners such as SITA all contribute towards its ‘Smart Airport’ vision that was officially launched in May 2016 under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani. Our aim is to empower our passengers to experience a seamless journey at their own pace, all the while keeping them informed about what matters to them most.

“The use of biometrics as the only verification required at each passenger touch-point along the airport journey will go a long way in improving the flow of passengers, providing a better travel experience as well as greater operational visibility for the stakeholders. SITA has already demonstrated excellent capability and agility in pioneering and optimising biometric exit checks for the boarding process at HIA. We believe that such joint efforts will contribute to digital transformations across the air transport industry.”

Hani El-Assaad, SITA President, Middle East, India and Africa, commented: “We at SITA welcome the opportunity to work with a world-leading hub such as Hamad International Airport to push the boundaries of innovation to truly change the way passengers will travel in future. Our vision to make air travel easier at every step fits neatly with Hamad International Airport’s ‘Smart Airport’ vision and together we can help reshape the future of air transport.”

The MoU also lays the foundations for future trials to evaluate the effectiveness of robots for passenger facilitation, blockchain technology for rapid and secure sharing of data across stakeholders, and the potential use of augmented and virtual reality for operational concepts.

source : https://tinyurl.com/yc797thu

In creating the multimobby, studio rotor had one question in mind-how do you transport airport passengers with reduced mobility to their gate – in a safe, comfortable and efficient way? nowadays, many airports use golf carts. but as the name says, these vehicles aren’t designed with airports in mind. so, when dutch manufacturer special mobility asked studio rotor for an electric transport vehicle design that fitted with the specific needs of airports and passengers, studio rotor set out to make airport transport fun with the multimobby.

studio rotor has designed the vehicle with safety in mind. the driver seat is raised, to provide clear oversight of the surroundings. also, the high side doors ensure that passengers won’t put their arms outside. next to these physical barriers, the multimobby comes with a full sensor package to monitor obstacles and people outside the vehicle. even the speed is automatically reduced if necessary to prevent a collision.

Watch video and read more here : https://tinyurl.com/mn6lwta

Schiphol Airport has started a test with KLM involving “biometric boarding”,

one-off boarding without showing your boarding pass or passport.

Passengers board the aircraft quickly and easily using a special door that recognizes passengers by their faces.

With the help of this test, Schiphol and KLM want to study the technology of facial recognition – the system’s speed, reliability, and user-friendliness. They will also examine the boarding process and the passenger experience. The ultimate aim is to make the boarding process as quick and easy as possible for our passengers. The test period will last a minimum of three months.

It will take place at a specially selected gate at the airport. Boarding with facial recognition will require passengers to register first. In the waiting area near the gate, there will be a special registration kiosk. KLM staff will assist the passengers.

Registration involves scanning the passport, the boarding pass, and the passenger’s face. In the interest of privacy, the data will be used only for the test. Following boarding, all personal data will be erased. All data storage in the registration kiosk is erased after ten hours.

Schiphol and its partners are constantly working to develop innovations and create smart ways of improving ease of travel, speed, and airport processes. The airport aims to become “Leading Digital Airport” in 2018. This test is just one step in that direction.

Over the past two years, the airport’s collaboration with KLM and governmental authorities has resulted in the introduction of the very first security scan for passengers, crew and staff, and the new Security Lane in 2015. Right now, there is a test involving carry-on baggage scanning which allows passengers to leave their laptops and liquids in their bags. In the time to come, innovative technologies will be tested on a regular basis and, when proven successful, will be put to use.

source : https://tinyurl.com/hnfdxxj

Suzanna Chiu, Head of Amadeus Ventures, Amadeus IT Group, recently spoke at the Fiturtech event in Madrid where she discussed Amadeus’ innovation partnerships, start-ups and trends for 2017 – most notably artificial intelligence (AI) and the API economy.

Before your thoughts drift to a techno-dystopian landscape – a place where robots are seeking vengeance on their human coinhabitants – think something a lot less sinister and something a lot more multifarious. Rapid advances in AI will have a sweeping impact on many industries and the travel industry is no exception.

As we go beyond data analytics and begin to understand human preferences in all contexts and ecosystems, it will naturally allow travel companies to provide their customers with more personalised experiences. Personalisation and conversion – significant sub-divisions of AI – will be crucial in helping the travel industry evolve along with the development of AI.

One field of AI that particularly excites the travel sector is that of conversational commerce, a place where messaging apps and shopping come together. In this regard, we can use artificial intelligence to understand human language.

Over 3 billion people use chat platforms, such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, to talk to each other. With messaging apps usage surpassing their social network cousins, it will soon be normal to talk with intangible “beings”, such as a brands and services. And the technology is only getting better.

Within the realm of hospitality, Amadeus has already invested in conversational commerce. Through partnering with Zingle, a software company that helps companies build customer relationships through instantaneous text messaging, we aim to help consumers have a better experience when staying at a hotel. Being able to ask for towels, extra pillows or the Wi-Fi password via text will be in the not so distant future.

Amadeus Ventures has also invested in Evature, a travel intelligence company that is developing an Expert Virtual Agent (EVA) – a tool with pre-trained bots that will act as human travel agents. Evidently, this could shape the travel landscape greatly.

Excitingly, this is just the beginning. In the very nature of the word, innovation is an on-going journey and the adoption of new technology will continue to accelerate. New ideas and technologies are offering great opportunities for travel players to create amazing experiences for both business and leisure travellers. Amadeus have multiple innovation vehicles to keep turning ideas into value-adding solutions for our customers.

source: http://tinyurl.com/hbkkxwj

Here are some of them:

1/ Robot Leo take care of your luggages

2/ At Indy Airport, half way between robot and Telepresence

3/ Narita : Robot bank clerk

4/FURO Robot @ Santos Dumont Airport

5/Russia: Meet Lenochka, the airport check-in robot

6/Edmonton airport testing

7/ Spencer : Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam

8/Robot Pepper starts work at Haneda Airport train terminal

Other robots are used for car parking, security and Duty free shops.