Future holiday horror: ‘A robot lost my luggage in Tokyo’

Haneda airport will start testing humanoid robots, because everything that gets a plane flying was designed for our species

Your next holiday memory might involve humanoid robots losing your luggage.

The Register offers that grim prediction after Japan Airlines on Monday announced it will trial humanoid robots for tasks including loading and unloading baggage, cleaning aircraft cabins, and general duties.

The carrier notes that Japan suffers from labor shortages and that the myriad pieces of equipment used airside at airports were all designed to be used by humans. It therefore makes sense to try humanoid robots that can use existing tools, rather than try to develop specific bots for each job.

The airline will commence trials in May and keep trying bots for two years, at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport – the nation’s busiest thanks to its location close to the city center.

Japan Airlines will work with a local ...