Airport Experience® News - Conference 2023

and easy manner,” Stone says. “In addition, our team is working on launching Yo-Kai Express , an autonomous restaurant that vends ramen and rice bowls. We hope to launch this offering in early 2023.” A similar format to Yo-Kai Express, Blendid offers robotic smoothie kiosks that are accessible 24/7 without the need for full-time staff. “We’ve identified more than 70,000 potential locations and are actively engaged with food service operators to open new locations—I have no doubt we’ll see the first Blendid airport location soon, and after that our goal is to become a standard sight in airports and other locations around the globe,” says Vipin Jain, co-founder and CEO. “Food automation efforts are rapidly expanding, with the food robotics market projected to top $4 billion by 2026.”

Jain firmly believes that robotics is the way of the future for food and beverage concessions. “AI-powered food robots open a new world of opportunity in the fast food and grab-and-go market and eventually will replace vending machines full of unhealthy, processed snacks to make fresh foods available 24/7 in more locations, at better prices,” he says. “I envision airport terminal hallways lined with a variety of automated robotic food stations where travelers and airport workers can order customized food in advance and quickly grab their selected food options as they head to their terminal or baggage claim. While I hope at least one Blendid kiosk is available at every airport eventually, I think we’ll see a mix of wonderful, freshly prepared food options for consumers to choose from in the years ahead thanks to advances in robotics.” Indeed, as technology continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s consumers, it seems clear that robots will only play a larger role in our everyday experiences and certainly at airports. “Robotic services not only benefit customer retention, but they also provide relief to an economically stressed workforce while increasing revenue for the airport itself,” Ottonomy’s Vijay notes. “The sky is the limit for human-robot collaboration in airports all over the world.” While DFW’s robotic concierge Iris is still in the testing phase, McIntyre notes that the airport is hoping to expand her body of knowledge and presence beyond the current two fixed kiosks into several more locations. “There are many potential opportunities for the use of robotics and digital humans across our vast campus, many of which exist outside the terminal,” he says. “DFW is certainly not afraid to try out new technologies—we’re always looking for innovative ways to help enhance the customer experience.”

Autonomy Is The Future Beyond the clear pandemic-related benefits of robotic services, there’s the fact that passengers want and expect tech solutions in all areas of air travel— especially tech that gives them more autonomy, Patel notes. “We know that Drink Command will become an integral part of the passenger’s journey, not because operators can’t find staff, but because passengers want fast, efficient choices that they’re in control of,” he says. Early robot adopter SJC continues to move forward with automated solutions. In January 2022 the airport introduced automated retail machines by Hudson . “These contactless, 24/7 retail destinations give travelers a diverse selection of specialty retail products to shop for in a very quick

Left: Drink Command offers self-serve beer walls, counters, table taps and more, and is currently operational at Atlantic City International Airport and Kansas City International Airport. Contactless tech solutions like this that give travelers autonomy are more relevant than ever.

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