DUBAI, UAE – Despite the growing integration of cutting-edge technology in the aviation industry, many travelers remain hesitant to embrace one of the latest innovations – robotic check-in assistants.

This reluctance was revealed during trials of the world’s first-ever robotic check-in system, known as Sara, at Emirates’ business class terminal.

Keenan Hamza, Vice President of Technology Futures & Innovation at Emirates Group, highlighted these findings during a media briefing at the company’s annual innovation festival, Forsatek.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Hamza shared that while the robotic system was designed to streamline the check-in process, it has not been warmly welcomed by all passengers.

“When we put Sara in the business class terminal, we found out that people avoid it,” Hamza explained. “It is a robot. They don’t know how to approach it, except children who go running to it. This is very important information to us.”

The Sara Experiment: Bridging Technology and Customer Comfort

Emirates has been conducting extended trials of Sara, first introduced at Forsatek 2023, to gather insights into customer behavior and interaction with the robotic system.

According to Hamza, the primary goal was to observe how long passengers spend with Sara and how effectively the system is being utilized.

“We are using her to collect a lot of information and see how long they are spending with her,” Hamza said.

“We spent the last few months on an extended trial about how it is being used. By the end of this year, we will be announcing some exciting partnerships in robotics that will see us go from one Sara to many across the airport.”

While the data collected from the trial is still being analyzed, the results have already prompted Emirates to rethink its approach to deploying robotics within their operations.

Despite the challenges, Emirates remains committed to investing in robotic technology to enhance the flying experience for its customers.

This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members