Humanoid robots are working in warehouses, present process exams for package delivery and folding laundry, however they cannot fly home, not less than not on Southwest Airways. The airline has a new policy that went into impact on Could 15, banning humanoid robots and “animal-like robots” from being transported in airplane cabins or as checked baggage, no matter dimension or objective.
The airline does make an exception for different robots that do not fall into these classes, however they need to match inside a carry-on-size bag and adjust to existing battery restrictions.
The airline’s restrictions on mobile power banks, which use the identical form of battery tech present in these robots, restrict them to 100 watt-hours, in keeping with the airline’s web site. As of April 20, fliers can solely carry one energy financial institution per buyer. Southwest started cracking down on batteries final yr as a consequence of their potential to combust. Passengers aren’t allowed to cost units of their carry-ons, both.
Lynn Lunsford, a spokesperson for Southwest, informed CNET the change was not in response to any single incident.
“We’ve got had a handful of latest experiences through which clients both purchased seats for units or tried to hold them on as baggage,” Lunsford mentioned in an e mail. “One led to a flight delay, which has been making headlines. The first concern is the dimensions of the lithium-ion batteries used to energy them and the danger they pose throughout flight. To eradicate confusion, the coverage applies to all comparable units, no matter dimension.”
Robots within the air
Southwest has been the topic of a number of robotic incidents not too long ago. Final month, a Bebop robotic made by Unitree caused a flight delay at Oakland San Francisco Bay Airport when it was seated on a Southwest flight to San Diego as a passenger. The robotic was apparently employed by a Dallas firm that rents out humanoid robots for occasions.
Individually, a smaller robotic referred to as Stewie flew in its own seat on a flight from Dallas to Las Vegas on Could 10. It was additionally owned by an organization that rents out robots.
