SITA Labs has connected a selection of its own products to create KATE - a robotic check-in kiosk which can move autonomously to the most congested areas of the airport to help manage check-in queues.
It has applied for a design patent for the product, which currently taps SITA's Day of Operations Business Intelligence and its FlightInfo API. It also links with SITA AirportConnect Open platform which standardises the passenger processing assets that KATE can deliver to the checking-in passengers, such as boarding passes and baggage tags.
SITA adds that while the robots are autonomous and can move automatically to where the data tells them they are needed, they can also be deployed "manually and in formation". As well as the cutting edge connectivity with airport and airline systems, KATE also features "obstacle avoidance technology", as in, sensors to stop it bumping into people and/or things.
KATE can be used anywhere inside the airport but also offsite locations such as train stations (wifi connectivity permitting).
SITA's claims that KATE "will relegate check-in queues to the past" is a bold one, but it is another potential cure for one of the airport and airline industries biggest headaches - how to service passenger flows through the planned and the unmanaged demand peaks and troughs.
Here's a short video from SITA introducing KATE: