On December 23, the DTU Center of Electrical Engineering (CEE) started testing their iRobt, which guides airplane passengers around Danang Airport. The robot research project is sponsored jointly by DTU and Danang International Airport.
iRobt being tested at Danang Airport
The iRobt will improve customer service and reduce staff pressure by sharing an ever-increasing passenger workload. “Several airports in Vietnam are also testing robots to meet various needs,” explained CEE Deputy-Director Tran Le Thang Dong. “However, most of these are quite expensive, offer little Vietnamese-language support and limited mobility. We hope that the iRobt will solve many of these outstanding issues.”
The iRobt’s composite plastic casing ensures high durability and the robot is equipped with Vietnamese and English voice recognition systems, integrated with language processing algorithms. Noise reduction and filtering technology allows the robot to hear questions from passengers in noisy airports and uses image processing QR codes to read boarding pass information. Then the robot provides passengers with information about their flights and leads them around the terminal to the appropriate locations. The iRobt integrates several advanced systems to:
- Communicate in Vietnamese or English to provide passenger information and guide them based on pre-set scenarios, using voice recognition, a touch-screen and a boarding-pass reader, phase 1
- Measure customer satisfaction, phase 2
- Use pre-set routes to lead passengers to a selected location, phase 2
- Function as an automated check-in kiosk, phase 3
CEE and Danang International Airport staff with the iRobt
Before the first test run at Danang Airport, the CEE researched and developed their iRobt with algorithms for motor and cruise control, software for Vietnamese-language recognition, a natural-language system to communicate with passengers in Vietnamese and a user-friendly interface allowing passengers to interact with the robot directly through a touchscreen to:
- Display flight information,
- Display a map of the airport
- Find restaurants, cafes and shops
- List objects not allowed on the airplane
- Take passenger photographs
- Send emails
- Provide further information, airport and flight regulations based on passenger enquiries
The iRobt is currently being tested for two-months at the airport. Based on the findings, the CEE will continue their research and development to complete all the phases, before official implementation.
(Media Center)