Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Weird dancing robots are here to help you at the San Jose airport

They’re not very smart.

Mineta San José International Airport

The primary hub for Silicon Valley air travel added three new robot staff members: Norma, Amelia and Piper.

The Mineta San José International Airport added the automated assistants to its customer service team yesterday.

The roving machines, which speak six languages, will be stationed at terminals to assist customers looking for food, directions and help snapping a selfie.

The trio can dance and play music, but they lack the intelligence of, say, Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. They also can’t tell you which gate your flight is departing from, but a representative from the airport said they hope to add that in the future.

All three robot helpers carry huge 32-inch screens that run Windows. They have screens for heads, too, which show animated faces stylized with big eyes like anime characters.

Norma, Amelia and Piper aren’t the first bots to rove American airports. In 2014, the Indianapolis International Airport rolled out a telepresence robot — basically a tablet on a Segway — that broadcast a live person’s face on the screen to answer customer questions.

The three San Jose robots were purchased for $120,000 by the airport’s concessionaires. The hope is that the electronic assistants will coax travelers into the airport’s shops and restaurants.

A South Korean firm, Future Robot, designed and manufactured the androids.

Customer service robots are starting to roll out in airports around the world. A humanoid, Nao, made by SoftBank, is stationed at Narita International Airport in Tokyo to greet travelers. And at the Geneva Airport in Switzerland a robot is on hand to help check luggage. Other airports with mechanical assistants on staff include Edmonton International Airport in Alberta and Schiphol, the main international airport in Amsterdam.

Watch a video of the bag-drop robot in Geneva.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram
Technology
What happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputerWhat happened when they installed ChatGPT on a nuclear supercomputer
Technology

How they’re using AI at the lab that created the atom bomb.

By Joshua Keating
Future Perfect
Humanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious missionHumanity’s return to the moon is a deeply religious mission
Future Perfect

Space barons like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk don’t seem religious. But their quest to colonize outer space is.

By Sigal Samuel