Self-driving robot to rove South Korean airport this summer

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As South Korea prepares for its first Winter Olympics game, robots that can help travelers find their boarding gates and keep its floors clean will start roaming the country's largest airport this summer.

Introducing Troika, the self-driving robot

Starting this month, Troika, a self-driving robot by LG Electronics, will rove the Incheon International Airport, telling travelers how long it takes to get to boarding gates and escorting them to their flights. A jumbo cleaning robot will help cleaning staff swab the wide expanses of floors in the airport west of Seoul.

Troika, about the size of a young teen, is equipped with a rectangular display on its front that looks like a giant smartphone screen which can display flight information, an airport map and weather data. Its partly rounded head has a flat touchscreen face that displays blinking or smiling eyes or information.

Employees of Incheon International Airport follow Troika. /AP Photo

Travelers can insert their tickets into its scanner to obtain flight information, and Troika will then ask if they want to be escorted to their gates, warning laggards to “please stay closer so I can see you.”

Troika’s debut piqued the interest of many in the airport. Heads swiveled and children approached with curiosity as the 140-centimeter robot with its white body and black screens glided through the terminal.

South Korea's robotics scene

Robotics is gaining ground in South Korea, where many big businesses are automating factory production lines.

South Korean researchers have won awards in international robot competitions, but have been slow to introduce human-like or interactive robots in public places like hotels or stores, unlike its neighboring Japan where Softbank’s humanoid Pepper is no stranger.

Incheon International Airport Corp. believes it is the first to introduce such service-oriented robots in a South Korean public space.

Another state-owned airport operator, Korea Airports Corp., which operates 15 international airports in South Korea but not Incheon airport, has also teamed up with local companies to introduce air-purifying robots to measure air quality and clean terminals.

LG Electronics’s cleaning robot moves to clean the floor as a worker, right, passes by on a cleaning vehicle at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea. /AP Photo

Incheon International Airport Corp. said in a statement it does not expect the robots to replace human workers, but just to help, especially with overnight shifts and physically demanding tasks.

Future plans include deploying robots to advise travelers about banned flight items, serve food in airport lounges and carry cargo.

South Korea expects the robots to burnish its reputation as a technology leader when the country hosts the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Kim Hyoungrock, the chief research engineer at LG Electronics who oversaw the robot’s development, puts a boarding pass into Troika. /AP Photo

Troika's maker LG is still working out the kinks.

The robot can only perform a few simple tasks it has been programmed to carry out.

During a recent test run, it failed to recognize some voice commands, such as when Amethyst Ma, a tourist from San Jose, California, asked how she and her kids could catch a bus to the city.

But it’s meant to be a fast learner. By July, Troika will be speaking English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese, said Kim Hyoungrock, the chief research engineer at LG Electronics who oversaw the robot’s development.

Nevertheless, Troika can recognize its location inside the airport terminal and navigate around passers-by and obstacles, said Kim.

Amethyst Ma, a tourist from San Jose, California, talks to Troika at the Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea. /AP Photo

Still, such machines could be quite useful for overseas travelers, Ma said. “It’s becoming common in a lot of public places so that’s why I came to it right away,” she said. “It’s a source of information, especially if we don’t speak the local language.”

(Source: AP)

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