CASE STUDY justification for why community networked solutions could and should play a larger part than what ’ s occurring today .
How has the data allowed you to contain the spread of disease while creating a less negative economic impact ?
We can only speculate at this point given the ever-changing conditions by our global public health organizations . I do think it ’ s fair to suggest that we ’ ve used data effectively in our decision making .
One of our best use cases are the IoT ( Internet of Things ) sensors that we placed in all of our public restrooms pre-Covid . The sensor deployment was purpose driven for better staff efficiency while providing a greater , positive impact of exceptionally clean restrooms for our customers .
Our sensors have predetermined thresholds established and actively count the number of visits in and out of each female and male restroom . As the threshold nears for a particular restroom , our nearest male or female housekeeper , depending on the room type , is alerted that the restroom needs servicing .
This is done through cloud-based computing and notifications sent to a wearable device ( wrist watch ) that each housekeeper is issued . We ’ ve moved well beyond the traditional ‘ pen and paper note card ’ of when the restroom was last serviced . Our guests are less interested in seeing someone ’ s initials on a piece of paper and are far more expectant of superior cleanliness . Add the COVID-19 concerns of today and our customer expectations have likely increased exponentially .
As COVID-19 began to impact our airport passenger activity , we immediately used data from the IoT restroom devices to determine which restrooms to close temporarily or for an extended period of time .
This allowed for the best , most efficient use of staff ’ s time verses attempting intensive cleaning throughout all restrooms . It gave them a fighting chance to keep up with the newer expectations . Pre-Covid closing restrooms would have been unheard of . However , with effective signage and customer guidance , our traveling guests had a greater appreciation for why we were actively closing / opening restrooms in the interest of quality , health and safety . It ’ s gestures like these that will support optics and confidence building for the public to return to air travel , demonstrating in real time that aviation is acting on the health and welfare of our guests at all times going forward .
How has COVID-19 increased the use of automation in the aviation industry ?
We ’ re seeing automation in the industry gradually increase , but I ’ m hesitant to point to COVID-19 as today ’ s driver . Much of the focus is on recovery through health measures like those mentioned above .
At the same time , I would be remised in not pointing out the many thousands of our colleagues worldwide that have been displaced from their jobs temporarily or permanently . Those with ‘ innovation ’ in their title have been hit particularly hard as organizations retract from the future and refocus efforts on survival today .
We ’ re not immune but are taking an altered approach of using this lull time as the perfect opportunity to pilot autonomous capabilities . Being no stranger to autonomous options such as being the first North American airport to trial the WHILL personal EV , we ’ ve rushed back into the AV space with products like Segway / Ninebot ’ s ‘ loomo ’ and Piaggio Fast Forward ’ s ‘ gita ’.
Gita in particular offers a diverse set of consumer options from ageing population ’ s robotic carry-on concierge to product delivery gate-side ( e . g . shopping / dining ).
Pre-Covid , the average US domestic traveler would proceed from security to their departure gate , gain their bearings , reconfirm their flight information at the appropriate gate , then would consider traveling away from their departure gate for shopping and dining experiences .
In the present day , there ’ s a reluctance to walk away from the gate out of concern for unnecessary movement or surface touching . This is equating to a tremendous loss of concession revenue for the foreseeable future .
The alternative is sending product to the consumer at or near their gate , either through order apps or through the traditional retail ‘ impulse buy ’ where a customer sees something , they normally wouldn ’ t purchase , but due to convenience and proximity , the purchase is made . It ’ s the ‘ candy options at the check-out aisle ’ that grocery retailers use so effectively .
Outside , we ’ re just completing our first phase of AV passenger and baggage / cargo transport vehicles . This has largely required robust mapping and scenario building for the software ’ s Artificial Intelligence and prediction modeling . We ’ re days away from unveil to see what we believe is the first retrofit of existing vehicle platforms to be used in AV Level 4 ( no safety driver ) mode .
The intended purpose is to demonstrate and offer our tenant airlines an opportunity to deploy AV in co-ordination and support of the airport . Post-Covid , we likely can anticipate an employment shortfall in some markets while others struggle with high employee turnover , loss of job knowledge due to extended absence and a myriad of other labor constraints .
The use of AV is intended to complement staff presence by performing routine jobs on their behalf , freeing aviation professionals to focus on more critically important aspects of the job such as customer-facing roles or on-aircraft support ( timely parking , loading / unloading , safety checks , etc ). •
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