Emirates‘ spanking new check-in robot, Sarah, has arrived in the city. Sarah, a portable intelligent device, was introduced this past Thursday at ForsaTEK, the inaugural edition of the airline’s innovation conference, and will be located in the Emirates terminal at Dubai International Airport. Sarah, a locally produced AI, is fluent in five to seven languages.
To quote Emirates’ COO Adel Al Redha, “I think we are the first airline globally to offer or plan to introduce a portable check-in robot.
Passengers can have their entire check-in process handled by the robot, including receiving their boarding pass through text message or electronic mail.
Once the pilot program is implemented, Al Redha said the airline intends to roll out at least 200 of these check-in robots in the coming years. The airport and airside will be outfitted with the gadgets, he said.
In addition to a passport scanning slot, Al Redha stated the device can scan the traveler’s biometrics. In other words, after passing through passport check, passengers need not present their IDs again to enter the boarding area or lounges, as Al Redha put it.
That displayed here (at ForsaTEK) is available and fully operational. We are now waiting for the quantity of units (production) to be finished. In a couple of months, it will be put into use at the airport,” he continued.
More AI Check-in robots will be used in future
Many more AI-powered devices, according to Al Redha, would be installed on the airport’s airside for transit passengers. Travelers will find it useful, for sure. Users can use these machines to print out replacement boarding cards. They can avoid contacting airline personnel, for instance.
With the new enhancements, “We will be enhancing the service to integrate it with immigration services to guarantee that travellers have the proper entrance permits and visas, or if you have a hotel booking, or give you the information in case you want to make any hotel bookings,” he said. The price tag for the new gadget’s development was kept under wraps by Al Redha.
“Every day, more and more people fly through Dubai’s airports. Unfortunately, there is no room for expansion at the airport. Yet with tools like these and artificial intelligence and robotics, we can enhance the traveller experience.
The chief operating officer of Emirates also mentioned the potential use of ChatGPT and similar AI-powered chatbots to streamline customer care.
Several integrated biometric contactless routes were installed in Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport in 2021.
Passengers may use facial and iris recognition technology, the newest biometrics, to check in for their flights, complete immigration processes, access lounge services, and board their planes without having to stop for anything.
Biometric gates were introduced on a trial run. The tests went well, and we’ve been gradually expanding our usage of these features to improve passengers’ experiences at the airport, he said.
To read our blog on “UAE altered process & requirements for Emirates IDs & passports,” click here.
