{"id":96733,"date":"2026-05-01T15:40:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/?p=96733"},"modified":"2026-05-01T15:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T12:45:15","slug":"humanoid-robots-to-handle-luggage-and-cleaning-at-tokyo-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/humanoid-robots-to-handle-luggage-and-cleaning-at-tokyo-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanoid Robots to Handle Luggage and Cleaning at Tokyo Airport"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Japan Airlines, in collaboration with GMO AI &#038; Robotics, has initiated trials of humanoid robots for ground operations at Tokyo&#8217;s Haneda Airport.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/SNnSOO11KFU?si=1O-xMbzEWSQsKLhP\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The companies have begun testing robots for baggage handling and aircraft cabin cleaning. The trials will last for two years.<\/p>\n<p>The project was launched amid a surge in tourism to Japan and a labour shortage due to an ageing population.<\/p>\n<p>In a demonstration video, an android from the Chinese company Unitree moves cargo along a conveyor, waves, and greets those around it.<\/p>\n<p>Unitree is one of China&#8217;s leading robot developers. In February, the company unveiled its flagship model H1 at a gala celebrating the Chinese Spring Festival, where the robot performed kung fu moves.<\/p>\n<p>It is unknown whether Unitree is participating in the tests at Haneda Airport.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Demographic Factor<\/h2>\n<p>Ageing populations and declining birth rates are common issues in major cities, including Tokyo. These trends drive demand for humanoid robotics.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;These trends provide bots with opportunities to perform important and often unattractive functions in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, and hospitality,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2026\/05\/01\/japan-airlines-humanoid-robots-haneda-labor-shortage.html\">noted<\/a> analysts at Barclays.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to forecasts by the <span data-descr=\"Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development\" class=\"old_tooltip\">OECD<\/span>, Japan&#8217;s working-age population will shrink by 31% from 2023 to 2060. Mark Einstein, Director of Research at Counter Research, believes that humanoid robots will play an increasingly prominent role in Japan&#8217;s labour market.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Significant Boost<\/h2>\n<p>In recent years, humanoid robots have significantly expanded their capabilities, largely due to advancements in joint mechanics and artificial intelligence. They can now perform tasks that were unattainable just a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Barclays considers physical robotics to be the &#8220;next frontier&#8221; in AI development. The bank estimates that the market could grow to $1.4 trillion by 2035, up from the current $2\u20133 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Back in April, a humanoid robot from Honor <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/humanoid-robot-sets-new-half-marathon-world-record\">ran<\/a> a half marathon in 50 minutes and 26 seconds\u2014six minutes faster than the men&#8217;s world record.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japan Airlines, in collaboration with GMO AI &#038; Robotics, has initiated trials of humanoid robots for ground operations at Tokyo&#8217;s Haneda Airport.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Japan Airlines and GMO AI & Robotics test humanoid robots at Haneda Airport.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[438,652],"class_list":["post-96733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-robots"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"9","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Japan Airlines and GMO AI & Robotics test humanoid robots at Haneda Airport.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96733"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96735,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96733\/revisions\/96735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}