Air New Zealand and CommBank explore the future of travel with social robots
Air New Zealand customers at Sydney Airport will get to experience the role robots may play in future travel journeys
this week.
The airline is partnering with CommBank in a five-day experiment utilising Chip CANdroid, the bank’s social humanoid
robot, which will interact with and assist Air New Zealand customers checking in and at the gate prior to boarding.
Air New Zealand Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan says “this partnership and experiment with Commbank and Chip is another
way we are pushing the boundaries to ensure we remain at the forefront of technology which will allow us to further
enhance the experience we offer our customers.”
Air New Zealand has worked with a range of technology partners to introduce innovations which are enhancing the
experience it offers customers. For example, Oscar, the artificial intelligence–backed chatbot has been introduced to
assist customers with a more personalised online experience or biometric bag drops which identify customers using
face-to-passport recognition.
“We are also experimenting with potential enhancements of the future, including the idea of our cabin crew one day using
Microsoft’s HoloLens augmented reality viewers onboard our aircraft,” says Mr Golan
Commonwealth Bank established a social robotics team within its Sydney Innovation Lab in late 2016, with the intention
of partnering with leading corporates and research institutions to better understand the opportunities and challenges
that physical robotic technologies present in a variety of commercial contexts.
Tiziana Bianco, General Manager Innovation Labs, Commonwealth Bank says “this experiment is a great example of why we
invested in social robotics; working collaboratively with an innovative client like Air New Zealand, while also engaging
some of the brilliant minds from UTS’s Centre for Artificial Intelligence. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore the
possibilities of a horizon technology such as social robotics, and what it might enable in the future.”
Ms Bianco says social robots can bring to life information that is not particularly engaging when delivered by a screen.
“People interact with them in a very social and sometimes emotional way, which means they can enhance experiences in
ways that other technologies are unable to do,” Ms Bianco says.
“Chip is one of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world, and is perfect for our work aimed at understanding how
humans and robots interact in dynamic social spaces.
“The opportunity to experiment with a robot like Chip in a real world environment such as Sydney Airport is unique, even
on a global scale. It is also incredibly valuable, as it allows both corporates and academics to contribute to the
growing field of research in social robotics and ensures that both CommBank and Air New Zealand remain at the forefront
of disruptive technologies.”
Air New Zealand customers can meet Chip at the Air New Zealand check-in counter and at selected departure gates at
Sydney International Airport from Monday 21 August until Friday 25 August.
Click here to watch Air New Zealand’s Chief Digital Officer Avi Golan and CommBank’s Tiziana Bianco explore the future of travel
with social robots.
ENDS