Passengers travelling from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in the US can now order food, beverages and travel items sold at retail outlets in the airport’s Concourse B on their mobile device and have their purchases delivered directly to their location by an autonomous delivery robot.

Once they have placed their order online, customers receive status updates on their phone along with a unique QR code which they can scan using the robot’s camera to open a secure compartment containing their purchases.

The robots — known as Ottobots — have been developed by California-based startup Ottonomy and use its “proprietary contextual mobility navigation tech” to “navigate autonomously through crowds and unpredictable environments”.

“The overall system is highly scalable and flexible, utilising a comprehensive suite of cloud tools that manages a fleet of robots deployed throughout different areas of an airport,” the firm says.

Passengers can use the contactless robot delivery service to order items sold at airport stores operated by Paradies Lagardère, the US-based retailer that expanded its own Scan, Pay & Go mobile self-checkout service to 20 additional airports across the US and Canada last month.

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