"Southwest Airlines appears to have become the first airline to enshrine a no-robots policy into their rulebook, after a Dallas business owner tried to take his 3.5-foot robot for a jaunt through the clouds. First reported by CBS News, Aaron Mehdizadeh, owner of robot-rental company the Robot Studio, was on his way home from a trip to Las Vegas with his robot pal "Stewie" in tow. Rather than shipping the humanoid-robot or checking it as cargo, Mehdizadeh bought the robot its own seat, presumably to draw out a little publicity."
"It wasn't even the first such incident on a Southwest flight. Just days prior, a different humanoid robot passenger caused an hour-long delay on another Southwest flight, this one out of Oakland, California. In that episode, flight attendants went through a thorough checklist to ensure the robot would behave and that its battery didn't pose a flight hazard. The pair of incidents apparently caused such a stir that just two days after Mehdizadeh's trip, Southwest announced a unilateral ban on humanoid- and animal-robots in the plane cabin, or even as checked luggage."
"In a memo to CBS, Southwest said the new rule was put in place to comply with lithium-ion battery rules. Mehdizadeh, however, insists there's something else going on, because Stewie's battery was "essentially a laptop battery." More on robots: Hacker Takes Over Robot Lawnmower, Runs Over Innocent Man"
A Dallas business owner flew with a 3.5-foot humanoid robot by buying it a seat instead of shipping it as cargo. The robot-rental company owner traveled with the robot “Stewie” after a trip from Las Vegas. A prior Southwest flight also experienced delays when a different humanoid robot passenger required a detailed safety checklist, including battery hazard checks. After these incidents drew attention, Southwest announced a unilateral ban on humanoid and animal robots in the plane cabin and even as checked luggage. Southwest stated the rule was intended to comply with lithium-ion battery regulations. The owner disputed the rationale, saying the robot’s battery was essentially a laptop battery.
Read at Futurism
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]