A company called Ottonomy is providing a fleet of its fully autonomous delivery robots – called Ottobots – for food and retail at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG).
This is said to be the first autonomous robotic delivery of food, beverage and lifestyle products in an airport environment.
Officially launched for the holiday travel season, passengers are now able to order contactless delivery directly to their location in Concourse B of the airport, delivered by an autonomous robot. Customers can select grab and go, beverage and travel items sold at select retail stores operated by Paradies Lagardere via orderatcvg.com on mobile devices.
Customers receive status updates on their phone and a unique QR code, which can be scanned by the robot’s top camera to open the secure compartment and retrieve their items. The entire delivery experience is contactless and fully autonomous, a first in the industry.
Candace McGraw, CEO, CVG Airport, says: “At CVG, we are redefining the travel experience by combining talent and tech to deliver innovative solutions.
“We’ve built a culture of innovation at the airport and are excited to partner with Ottonomy to test and advance this technology in a live, airport environment.”
The original pilot of Ottobots at CVG started running in late 2020. The partners gathered feedback from participating passengers including details on the experience, cost and desire to have autonomous delivery in airports. These live robot deliveries will gather additional research to further develop the program and user experience.
Ritukar Vijay, co-founder and CEO of Ottonomy, says: “This launch is a testament to CVG’s commitment to innovation and customer experience.
“We are able to provide a safe and secure experience through our Ottobots, executing automated contactless deliveries of food and beverage and retail products. Covid-19 has changed the way we all interact and relate to travel, making contactless delivery even more relevant and essential.”
Ottobots navigate autonomously through crowds and unpredictable environments using Ottonomy’s proprietary Contextual Mobility navigation tech.
The overall system is highly scalable and flexible utilizing a comprehensive suite of cloud tools that manages a fleet of robots deployed throughout different areas of an airport.
