Tokyo's Haneda Airport is trialing a driverless vehicle to tow cargo containers in an attempt to get around labor shortages as the number of tourists flying into Japan soars. The vehicle at one of the world's busiest airports can tow up to 13 metric tons of containers, joint developers All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Toyota Industries said in a statement. It can pull up to six containers at a time, trundling between aircraft and airport buildings over a distance of around 2 kilometers with no driver in the cab. The Level 4 vehicle, meaning that it does not require human interaction in certain settings -- although a human driver can still request control -- has been in operation since July 1. The trial, the first at a Japanese airport, is part of government-backed efforts to innovate the air transport industry, and the companies aim to make the vehicle fully operational by the end of next year, they said.

Passengers with limited mobility will soon be able to navigate airports more easily thanks to Panasonic's robotic electric wheelchair. Developed as part of a wider program to make Japan's Haneda Airport more accessible to all, the wheelchair utilizes autonomous mobility technology: after users input their destination via smartphone the wheelchair will identify its position and select the best route to get there. Multiple chairs can move in tandem which means families or groups can travel together, and after use, the chairs will'regroup' automatically, reducing the workload for airport staff. The chairs also use sensors to stop automatically if they detect a potential collision. The chairs will be tested between now and March 2018 alongside a number of other initiatives devised by Panasonic and NTT.

While robots are starting to be used to greet you at stores, Panasonic looks to put them to real work. The company's HOSPI robot is undergoing trials at Narita Airport in Chiba, Japan, where it's collecting used plates from restaurants and food courts in addition to serving drinks and providing directional information to customers. The cheery Dalek-in-training was originally designed for shuttling medical samples and files to doctors in hospitals and is used in four hospitals around the country, according to Panasonic. Along with its mapping information and high-performance sensors, the robot has advanced collision-detection tech, meaning that no guidance equipment needs to be put into walls or ceilings. Panasonic is evidently keen to have robots do our bidding, recently trialling robotic checkout machines in Osaka.