British Airways is set to trial artificial intelligence powered robots at Heathrow Terminal 5. In an announcement Thursday, the airline said the autonomous robots had been programmed to "interact with passengers" in multiple languages and would be able to answer "thousands" of questions, providing passengers with services such as real-time flight information. The robots are being provided by a technology company called BotsAndUs and the trial will start in 2020. British Airways added that the robots would also have the capacity to escort passengers to locations such as special assistance zones. "These smart robots are the latest innovation allowing us to free up our people to deal with immediate issues and offer that one-on-one service we know our customers appreciate," Ricardo Vidal, who is head of innovation at British Airways, said in a statement.

British Airways (BA) has introduced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to parts of its "airside operation" at Heathrow Airport. In an announcement Monday, the airline said that AI would be used to tackle challenges faced when an aircraft is being prepared for departure after passengers from its previous flight have disembarked. It's during this time that staff on the ground undertake manual checks related to 18 different things, making records of what they are doing, British Airways said. These checks have to be done before the plane takes to the air again and are, among other things, related to refueling, the unloading and reloading of luggage, and cleaning of the aircraft's inside. BA said that if one of these tasks encounters an issue, it could potentially disrupt the whole process, resulting in a delayed departure.

One of the technologies we are seeing being trialled and deployed in airports is robotic assistants. The humanoid robots are positioned around the airport terminal assisting passengers with queries and information. By making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, the robots can process large amounts of data, with real-time updates to enable them to provide the latest information to passengers. This technology is starting to be used in some select airports but for different functions. Munich Airport in Germany is using robotic assistants primarily for information.

LONDON - Climate activists from Extinction Rebellion have drawn up plans to use drones to shut London's Heathrow Airport this summer in a campaign to stop the construction of a third runway at Europe's busiest airport, the group said. The internal proposal, seen by Reuters, emerged against a backdrop of renewed campaigning by environmental groups who argue that expanding Heathrow would be incompatible with Britain's targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions. "On June 18, we plan to carry out nonviolent direct action to ensure Heathrow Authorities close the airport for the day, to create a'pause' in recognition of the genocidal impact of high carbon activities, such as flying, upon the natural world," Extinction Rebellion said in a statement late on Thursday. "This is not about targeting the public, but holding the Government to their duty to take leadership on the climate and ecological emergency," the group said. Heathrow Airport said the use of drones would be a "reckless action."

The artificial intelligence technology could reclaim 20 per cent of lost capacity caused by low cloud and reduced visibility from the control tower. At Heathrow's air traffic control tower, NATS have developed a digital tower laboratory which combines ultra HD 4K cameras with AI and machine learning technology to help to boost the capacity of the UK's busiest airport. Heathrow's 87-metre tall control tower is the highest in the UK, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear. In those conditions, where the controllers have to rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has left the runway, extra time is given between each landing to ensure its safety. The result is a 20 per cent loss of landing capacity, which creates delays for passengers and knock-on disruption for the rest of the operation.

The air traffic management service NATS has begun a trial to understand whether Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used to help reduce flight delays. A project is now underway, within NATS' bespoke Digital Tower Laboratory, at Heathrow Airport to test whether a combination of ultra HD 4K cameras along with state-of-the-art AI and machine learning technology can be used to help improve the airport's landing capacity in times of low visibility and improve punctuality. Heathrow's 87 metre tall control tower is the highest in the UK and provides commanding views of the airport and surrounding landscape, but its height can also mean it disappears into low cloud, even when the runways below are clear. In those conditions, where the controllers have to rely on radar to know if an arriving aircraft has left the runway, extra time is given between each landing to ensure its safety. The result is a 20% loss of landing capacity, which creates delays for passengers and knock-on disruption for the rest of the operation.

Fascinating footage has been released of a robot's-eye-view of a driverless vehicle trial at Heathrow Airport, side-by-side with how a human driver would see the routes it took. The clip comes from a'cargopod' vehicle that spent three and a half weeks running autonomously along a cargo route around the airside perimeter. The trial collected over 200km of data for Heathrow, cargo operator IAG Cargo and the software firm providing the self-driving tech, Oxford-based Oxbotica. Fascinating footage has been released of a robot's-eye-view of a driverless vehicle trial at Heathrow Airport, side-by-side with how a human driver would see the routes it took The clip comes from a'cargopod' vehicle, pictured, that spent three and a half weeks running autonomously along a cargo route around the airside perimeter The trial was designed to further understanding about how autonomous vehicles could work in an airside environment so opportunities for their use can be maximised. Lynne Embleton, CEO at IAG Cargo, said: 'Technology is evolving at an incredible pace.

EDT: In addition to the Gatwick Airport in south-east England, check-in systems at the Heathrow Airport have also gone down. A spokeswoman for the Heathrow Airport confirmed the news to the Telegraph. "A small number of airlines are currently experiencing intermittent issues with their check-in systems at airports around the world -- including at Heathrow," she said. "Passengers will still be able to check-in for their flight, although the process may take slightly longer than usual. We are working closely with our airlines to help resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

British Airways canceled all its flights in and out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday after a major computer system failure. Thousands of airline passengers, many who were travelling during a holiday weekend in the United Kingdom, were stranded due to the outage, while the airline's fleet was left grounded on runways. "It's a complete nightmare," one person stuck at Heathrow told Reuters, also describing long waits and confusion among the airline's staff. British Airways has not revealed the source of the computer failure but said there has been no evidence it was caused by a cyber attack. We're working hard to get anyone due to fly today, onto the next available flights.

Driving on today's roadways jammed with automobiles, it is easy to understand the challenges of integrating automated vehicles into the flow of traffic. How do you mix driverless vehicles with the difficult-to-predict movements of vehicles driven by people? How do you convince people to give up the sense of freedom that comes from driving themselves? Clean, electric, robot vehicles would be like R2D2's with seats. If we could use today's roads without human drivers, clean, electric, robot vehicles could already successfully navigate our cities, like R2D2s with seats.