Dallas Fort Worth Airport Testing Mobile Baggage Robots

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport is currently testing a system of mobile baggage robots in the passenger recheck area at Terminal D. These autonomous vehicles have been developed by Dutch firm Vanderlande and will transport luggage to the correct baggage belts for transfer passengers who arrive from international flights and connect through DFW airport. The system is designed to handle about 450 bags per hour. The big change seen here is that these robots will be operating in a passenger area, as opposed to behind-the-scenes in a usual baggage handling system.

DFW is going to evaluate this new technology and assess its potential applications of robots and autonomous vehicles at different points within the airport. As the airport already serves 69 million travelers a year, there is a pressing need for greater automation to provide a hassle-free baggage infrastructure.