Are Autonomous Wheelchairs The Future Of Airport Mobility?

I've seen these for several months now in the Detroit airport as well - they seem to operate well.

I've seen something similar to these operate at Haneda for a couple years now. They seem to be working well but funnily enough are way smaller than the models shown here. Make of that what you will.

Last September or so AMS started testing those self-driving wheelchairs. I think they also use vehicles from Whill.
It was the first and only time I've seen this when I traveled through AMS (which was also last Sepember) and I thought that was an indeed good idea.
I gotta admit that I didn't compare it to regular wheelchairs pushed by some personnel but to larger vehicles cruising between gates and carrying like 2, 4, or any number of passengers, and driven by some airport worker. So what I admired was the compactness of this solution.
Every once in a while I am amazed at the clever solutions the Dutch come up with. Interesting when you consider that the Dutch and we Germans ... well ... really "like" each other 😉

I wonder how the wheelchairs operate to meet arriving passengers? How about a detour to the restroom?

In countries with low labor costs, someone might make less than $10/day.

From the way this is described, I'm thinking they have geofences or RFID markers installed to essentially give the wheelchairs a "track" to follow and navigate their way around the airport. In which case, I'd assume they did that for the restrooms too, not just the gates, configured to take the passenger to the handicap/wheelchair accessible stall. Guessing there's a button to request the pit stop on the wheelchair controls.

I think the hesitancy is probably related to old people being the primary audience for the wheelchairs and fears old people have around stuff like this

Best case scenario is a hard learning curve like the autonomous cars had of running into things, blocking spaces, riding past gates and not stopping till someone jams a button, etc, etc, etc.

Was in an airport lounge with an autonomous robot designed to pick up people's dishes and glasswear, it was very easy to fu©k with.

So sure, let's put some of our most vulnerable fliers in the hands of these filthy robots

Alaska Airlines is also using autonomous wheelchairs at Seattle Tacoma Airport

Guess you should not go to Japan.

They got the robot wheelchairs.

And the new robots to pick up people's dishes. They have restaurants that deliver your food, a tablet on the table to order, when you enter the restaurant there is a kiosk that tells you what tablet to sit at, when you are ready to leave a kiosk to pay. But they have staff to takeaway dishes and clean the tables. 🙂

And people in Japan treat those restaurant robots like shit. Push them around etc. Hehe

Hasn't Alaska using these at SEA longer than MIA? They do come with some navigational issues but agree with the cost savings since airlines are saddled with the obligation of providing extra service without being able to collect revenue for it.

As noted Seatac launched them with Alaska Air in Sept. 2024 That chime though it sticks with me for days.

I tried this earlier this year at MIA because I was curious (and I am somewhat handicap but not using wheelchair all the time). The vehicle follows a certain straight route and will not swerve when there is someone in the way, like passengers standing. Instead, it expects that other person to move out of the way. And because it senses every time someone steps in front of the vehicle to pass, it's stop and go all the time so it's slooow. I would recommend it if you're somewhat immobile, have a lot of time waiting, want to reach a destination, and there is no wheelchair assist. If you have a choice to get a wheelchair assist with a real person, do that instead.

There is a screen where you can get dropped off at any time, so if you see a bathroom and see the need to go, it will stop. However, it will not wait for you until you're done, it will go back to its 'base'.

If they didn't want the robots to be bullied, they shouldn't have given them such bulliable faces. I'm not a fan of them either.

This has been used for years already by Haneda and Narita
WHILL is a Japanese venture and it has been quite interesting.

Another interesting wheeelchair is the one codeveloped by ANA and Japanese company Matsunaga: it is a wheelchair hat does not use metal part. And it is de-attachable so it can go inside airplane without the person shifting from bigger wheelchair to a smaller one that fits onto the airplane corridor

We have had these at Winnipeg (YWG) for a year or more now …. we were one of the text sites

I had this experience from the other side. I was standing *against a wall* in a concourse at MIA, waiting for somebody to emerge from the restroom. A wheelchair carrying somebody trundled up to me and stopped. I wasn't even really paying attention to it until its passenger, apologetically, asked me to move. I stepped into the middle of the concourse and it continued on.

Awkward for both of us, and the tech should be able to do a lot better. Color me unimpressed.

Sorry--trying to reply to a different comment!

I can see the Indians using them if they ever intoduced them at sfo or Lax. South Indians are notorious for abusing the system. you should see them RUN once they are out of the CBP.

I think it will not work as intended. I think that the wheelchairs will quickly get busted and ruined and people will not care for them. I also think this will increase the number of people that "need" wheelchairs.