San Jose’s new robot customer service agents

Norma, Amelia, and Piper are the first robots at US airports

Mineta San Jose International (SJC) is the first U.S. airport to introduce robots.

The three robots, called Norma, Amelia, and Piper, are the first robots to be deployed at a U.S. airport, and are engaging and entertaining passengers while assisting them with locating dining, shopping, and other services.

Stationed on geo-fence mats and located at Gates 11, 21 and 25, the robots have avatar-friendly faces and audibly introduce themselves by their names.

They assist, engage, and entertain further by:

  • Offering in-terminal dining, shopping, and other Airport services information on a 32-inch touch screen tablet
  • Providing a You Are Here interactive map and directory
  • Displaying information in six languages – English, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish
  • Dancing, playing music, and taking photos that can be sent to passengers’ email accounts or displayed on the robots’ faces

The robots were designed by South Korea based Future Robot and programmed for SJC by Silicon Valley company 22 Miles.

A number of airports around the globe have introduced or trialed robots in various functions, including:

About Mineta San José International Airport

SJC serves more than 10 million passengers annually, with 173 peak daily departures on 14 domestic and international carriers to 40 nonstop destinations.

SJC offers:

  • free and fast WiFi
  • Mobile Passport app
  • Global Entry kiosks

N.B. Image credit: Mineta San José International Airport

Internet links

Mineta San José International Airport (SJC)

Future Robot

22 Miles