Left: Cyberdyne’s exoskeleton suit HAL
Below: Transportation robot for carrying luggage
Airport operator Japan Airport Terminal (JAT) has signed an agreement with robotics developer Cyberdyne to introduce three types of robot to Haneda Airport, Tokyo.
The agreement has been put in place to help JAT deal with some of the issues caused by an aging society, low birthrate and decreasing labor population. As such, the new machines will include transportation robots to help elderly passengers with their luggage; cleaning robots to help maintain the terminal; and an exoskeleton suit called HAL to provide lumbar support for airport employees performing labor-intensive duties. Cyberdyne will also develop new next-generation models as part of the agreement.
Cyberdyne hopes that Haneda Airport will serve as the blueprint for deploying its robotic technology at other airports around the world. The robots are scheduled to be fully deployed at the airport in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Images courtesy of professor Sankai, University of Tsukuba/CYBERDYNE Inc.
