While you are at the gate, the robot buys for you: thus Fiumicino becomes the airport of the future

Ottobot will take care of delivering to passengers waiting for boarding the products they have purchased online from the airport shops. Pixies, on the other hand, will have the task of keeping the spaces of the Rome-Fiumicino airport clean. These are two of the examples of the work released by the Leonardo Da Vinci Airport Innovation Hub, which after a selection process hosted ten start-ups from all over the world to develop innovative products that maintain the quality standards achieved by the airport. “We believe that the best way to do this is to turn to smart realities that use new approaches to solve problems of the past”, explains Emanuele Calà, the Head of Innovation and Quality at Aeroporti di Roma. “This environment allows us to develop our product directly in the field – adds Matteo Santilli of the Roman start-up Pixies -. Thus, for example, we can perfectly fine-tune the algorithm and obstacle avoidance functions of our robot”. In addition to the two autonomous bots for cleaning and delivery of goods, the Innovation Hub is ready to field other innovative projects, such as an autonomous wheelchair for people with disabilities, the implementation of AI in security checks for make the steps faster, to the abandonment of suitcase tags for better environmental sustainability.

by Francesco Giovannetti