Spencer the robot completes testing to guide KLM passengers through airport

Electronic chaperone: Spencer the robot has completed tests guiding KLM passengers at Schiphol.

A robot named Spencer was put to work to help KLM airline passengers get to their flights on time. Spencer has now completed a series of tests carried out at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam after over three years of development and programming.

Undertaking actions like scanning boarding passes and automatically guiding passengers to their departure gate over the course of the test period, Spencer is described by Kai Arras, the project's coordinator from Freiburg University, as the "first socially-aware robot that has ever been deployed at an airport," as it analyzes group relations in a busy environment and then adjusts its actions to "social rules." The robot can even adjust its speed to following groups of travelers as they head to their flight.

René de Groot, chief operating officer KLM, noted that incorporating "robotics" into the aviation company's systems "will supplement the service offered by our airport staff, who will then have more time to assist passengers with more challenging needs."

Spencer's test results will now be evaluated for the next phase of the project to get underway. —  AFP Relaxnews