Singapore’s Changi Airport, named the world’s best airport for the fifth consecutive year by international air travelers, is investing in cutting-edge tech to improve the customer (and employee) experience and stay on top.
Case in point: Passengers can now expect shorter wait times for flights as SATS, Asia’s largest ground handler, has introduced augmented reality (AR) glasses for 600 of its Changi ramp handling staff. The glasses provide real-time information such as loading instructions, replacing paper instructions and walkie-talkies.
AR could be a game-changer for the world’s sixth busiest airport, which served a record 58.7 million passengers in 2016 and is getting ready to open its state-of-the-art terminal 4. A hub for more than 100 airlines flying to 380 cities, Changi Airport handles 7,000 flights each week, or about one every 90 seconds.
WATCH: @ChangiAirport ground handlers to get smart glasses to help cut cargo, baggage loading time https://t.co/XaBd248zy9 pic.twitter.com/91R35gYSf5
— Channel NewsAsia (@ChannelNewsAsia) September 5, 2017
Using smart glasses, its ground handlers can scan visual markers similar to QR codes on baggage and cargo containers with details such as the weight, unit number and allocated position within the aircraft immediately provided.
“The hands-free process will help to improve safety, accuracy and efficiency of baggage and cargo loading, with loading time cut from 60 minutes to around 45 minutes,” Channel News Asia reported. “Passengers waiting to board flights, as well as transit times for airfreight shippers will see waiting times shortened by about 15 minutes.
Changi’s innovation lab, SATS and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) launched the smart glasses test in June in a pilot program with four airlines’ crew, including Singapore Airlines. A full roll-out is planned for mid-2018.
“With (global) passenger demand forecast to double by 2035 to 7.2 billion air travellers, we are preparing to handle more passengers, aircraft and airfreight,” SATS President and CEO Alex Hungate stated. “SATS is embracing technology to handle these volume increases in an innovative, sustainable way.”
AR isn’t the only tech-smart innovation being trialed at Changi: there’s a Smart Wheelchair system for passengers with reduced mobility; Roboto, a robotic chef preparing food in the SATS Premier Lounges; and smart vehicles that use “Follow-Me” technology to transport food trolleys.
“Before, it was very manpower-intensive, and some (employees) even suffered from back injuries because of (pushing individual food trolleys),” Donald Lum, SATS assistant VP of technology, told the Singapore Straits Times.
In another big bet on leading edge tech, Changi airport is also testing a smartwatch, The Technical Ramp Smart Watch, to aid ground staff in operational efficiency and timely take-offs.
“In an industry that is becoming ever more competitive, constant innovation and productivity gains are essential,” said Hungate. “In deploying smart watches and leveraging the Internet of Things, we not only drive greater efficiency but also reimagine the role of the Tech Ramp Technician.”
Using real-time GPS to monitor movement of Tech Ramp Agents from a central location, the smartwatches provide the latest information on updated schedules and instructions.
Its biggest high tech bet—its upcoming, immersive Terminal 4, which is opening on Oct. 31. T4 will feature “automated check-in kiosks with facial-recognition software and the use of tomography scanners, which allow laptops to remain in bags during security screening,” as Bloomberg notes.
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