The Japanese companies will test the G1 robot and the Walker E robot from Chinese companies Unitree Robotics and UBTECH Robotics, according to Asia Business Daily. Humanoid robots still typically cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit even as Chinese robot manufacturers ramp up mass production, though the Unitree G1 robot costs as low as $13,500 for a basic model.
New video from a demonstration apparently held in an airplane hangar shows one of the humanoid robots swinging toward a large metal shipping container and performing a mysterious pushing motion. But the shipping container only starts moving when a human operator operates the conveyor belt to move the container toward the plane.
Humanoid robot display with airport merchandise.
Presumably, robots will need to do more efficient work if they are to prove as productive as human airport workers. Having robots working directly alongside humans will also introduce new safety considerations at airports like Haneda Airport, Japan’s second-largest, where flights arrive approximately every two minutes. The first step in the pilot program will involve identifying areas of airports that will be safer for humanoid robots.
Cost-effective robotic assistance could be welcome at Japanese airports, which are suffering from a worsening human labor shortage. In December 2023, Tokyo’s Narita Airport was reportedly unable to respond to more than 30 percent of its requested flights each week due to staff shortages that include cargo handlers and other ground crew members, according to the Mainichi newspaper. Ground crew numbers across Japan fell from 26,300 to 23,700 between March 2019 and September 2023, Japanese government data showed.
