Unitree's humanoid G1 robot works at Japanese airport

The humanoid robot G1 from the Chinese robotics manufacturer Unitree Robotics has found a new field of activity at Haneda Airport in Tokyo with Japan Airlines. The robot, which is actually not very suitable for heavy work, is currently being used on a trial basis in baggage handling to support human personnel, writes The Guardian. The G1 is expected to take over tasks permanently soon.

Around 60 million passengers are handled annually at Tokyo-Haneda Airport. This involves a lot of luggage and cargo that needs to be moved. However, there is a shortage of working-age labor in the Japanese labor market due to the aging society. Hardly anyone wants to do the sometimes heavy and strenuous work anymore.

To improve working conditions for Japan Airlines employees, the airline is relying on the humanoid G1 robot, which is intended to perform physically demanding work hand in hand with human workers. However, safety-relevant tasks will continue to be handled by humans, the airline emphasizes. Specifically, this involves handling luggage, cargo, and equipment, which often need to be managed and processed under time pressure.

Small robot for heavy work

It is surprising that a G1 robot is being used for this, as it is relatively small at 1.32 m, weighs only 35 kg, and can therefore only handle objects up to 3 kg per arm. This does not seem optimal for using it for heavy work. The small battery of only 9000 mAh also does not allow the robot to last particularly long: it needs to be replaced after a maximum of two hours. However, this seems sufficient to use the robot meaningfully at the airport.

Previous attempts to automate baggage handling operations at airports with robots have largely failed. The reason: robots designed for specific tasks cannot be deployed flexibly enough in dynamic environments. Due to their advanced perception sensors and artificial intelligence (AI), humanoid robots can also react to unpredictable events and work collaboratively and safely with human workers. Their humanoid design favors their use in human-made work environments. Thus, no adjustments to the work infrastructure need to be made.

The implementation and integration of the G1 robot into the airport environment are being carried out in cooperation with the Japanese internet company GMO Internet Group. To this end, project engineers created a digital twin of the G1 and simulated human work methods using motion capture and video data. In the virtual environment, the robot learns through reinforcement learning to perform the intended tasks better and, above all, under different conditions. The training data is then transferred and adapted to the real robot. The G1 can then perform the tasks in real environments.

The G1 is scheduled to be deployed in baggage handling starting in May. So far, only individual tests have been conducted. However, the introduction of the humanoid robot will be gradual. Suitable tasks will continue to be identified for the robot to perform independently while adhering to safety regulations. The application of the robot will be continuously evaluated to ensure it is only used in areas where it can perform meaningful tasks. The project with GMO is initially planned for two years.

(olb)