JAL Ground Service President Yoshiteru Suzuki said that the introduction of robots into physically demanding tasks is expected to ease the workload for employees, while noting that certain responsibilities, including security management, will continue to require human involvement. GMO AI & Robotics President Tomohiro Uchida said that although airports appear highly automated, many back-end operations still rely heavily on manual labor and face acute staff shortages. He added that the company aims to help alleviate these challenges through the deployment of humanoid robotics.
The companies plan to explore broader applications for the technology, including cleaning aircraft cabins, in the coming phases. The robots to be used in the trial are manufactured in China and are currently capable of operating continuously for two to three hours.