robots

Robots, cool art for basketfall fans at San Antonio Int’l Airport

San Antonio International Airport (SAT) is geared up to welcome an estimated 93,000 visitors to the city for NCAA Final Four.

Arriving passengers will be greeted by SAT Ambassadors, NCAA Final Four volunteer greeters and art installations by local artist Cruz Ortiz,

Ortiz’s large-scale “Come as Rivals, Leave as Friends” artwork is in Terminals A and B and features flag-waving basketball fans, clasped hands and #Friends4Ever in Ortiz’s iconic style.

“This project at the San Antonio International Airport was super cool because it gave me the chance to present work on a large scale,” Ortiz said in a statement, “This special opportunity allowed me to show people getting off planes from all over the world what the soul of San Antonio is about.”

There are also robots helping travelers find food and other amenities at the airport:

More robots at an airport near you

Travelers will be running into robots at more airports as HMSHost adds Pepper, the humanoid robot, to the staff of more of its restaurants.

Her job: to give menu informaton and recommendations and generally entertain – or alarm – guests.

You may have encountered Pepper at her first assignment: the Pyramid Ale Taproom in Oakland International Airport. Now Pepper clones are also working hard at Avenue des Canadiens in Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (where Pepper understands French or English),   the Washington Redskins Burgundy & Gold Club in Washington Dulles International Airport and at Point the Way Café in Los Angeles International Airport.

According to HMSHost, Pepper customizes her features for each airport so her interactions with travelers vary from location to location. In some airports she not only offers restaurant help, she helps travelers with directions to things at the airport, such as gates and the nearest restrooms.

If yu run into Pepper, let us know what the expereience is like. Cool or creepy?

Robots invade John Wayne Airport

 

A collection of more than 100 toy robots – many with their original boxes – and robot-related catalogs belonging to an Orange County, CA resident are on display at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in the Vi Smith Concourse Gallery, on the upper level across from Gate 18 through 21 in Terminal C.

 

Robots of a different kind – on display this week at the the SITA IT Summit in Brussels – may soon help ease long check-in lines at your airport.

 

 

SITA Lab has created KATE, a smart check-in kiosk that knows when it may be needed and can move on its own to congested areas in airports.

The robotic kiosk uses geo-location technology to find its way through the airport and will use Wi-Fi to connect to  airline and airport systems, says SITA Lab, so ‘Kate’ can move freely through the airport terminal using obstacle avoidance technology to avoid bumping into people or things.

The robotic kiosks are designed to give airports and airlines an added tool for managing peaks in passenger flow caused by delays, scheduling peaks or other situations and, while brand new, will soon be tested in airports.

Visit SFO, end up in outer space

We’re coming up on Halloween and the anniversary of the Orson Welles-directed radio show of War of the Worlds.

So it’s a perfect time to schedule a trip to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) just to see a wonderful exhibition filled with more than 300 classic space-related products ranging from the “fantastically silly to the truly visionary.”

Out of this World! The Twentieth-Century Space Invasion of American Pop Culture,” features everything from flying saucer toys, space guns, rocket ships and robots, to everyday household objects like air fresheners, sewing needles and packaged foods.

Take a look:

(Tom Corbett Space Academy Set 1952; Courtesy of Mickey McGowan, San Rafael, California)

(Robot and Son c. 1956; Courtesy of Mickey McGowan, San Rafael, California)

Out of this World! also includes four sculptures by artist and collector Clayton Bailey, who began making life-sized robots back in 1975 using pieces of cookware, vacuum cleaners, bicycles, automobiles, and a variety of home appliances.

The exhibition is located post-security in Terminal 3 and will be on view through March 14, 2009.

(Rex Mars Planet Patrol Space Tank c. 1952; ection of Betty and Clayton Bailey, Port Costa, California)