The tech future is HERE, at Changi

Faced with an ageing population, Changi Airport is readying an army of robots and new technology to bolster its workforce capability.

Some of these friendly, helper robots have been in use for several years at the airport named the world’s best by Skytrax 14 times.

During several days of exploring Changi as part of a media visit, I pass smiling robots “wearing” the Changi cleaner uniforms.

This clean-up crew responds to requests from humans or detected through sensors and operational data, with the nearest and most suitable robot assigned to each task for efficient cleaning across all four terminals.

As an autonomous robocop scoots by, I wonder, but not too loudly, how it knows when to stop or call for backup. Named Gibson after the inventor of the electric scooter, the robo-scooter can also be ridden by a human officer.

Changi also has driverless wheelchairs that can be programmed to reach a set destination; this makes sense when I see elderly workers pushing wheelchairs for much younger people. A stand-off between two of these AI-powered wheelchairs recently went viral on social media.

The famous cocktail bar robots at Changi duty-free stores have decided to go on strike when I visit, so I can’t tell you if they know how to swap a free cocktail to a mocktail.

These are the passenger-facing robots but many more are being developed or already working airside.

At Terminal X, Changi’s innovation team members are “fixated on solving the air hub’s biggest challenges” including extreme climate change, a year-round hot climate, manpower resource limitations, the need for capacity enhancements and evolving customer expectations.

Singapore experiences more than 160 thunderstorms a year during which airside work often stops for the safety of workers.

To extend Changi’s existing suite of lightning protection measures, the innovation team has been exploring lightning drones that will act as flying lightning rods in the skies to further protect planes and airside workers from lightning strikes.

Ramp robots will be able to autonomously perform aircraft service activities, such as refuelling and opening cargo doors, even during inclement weather.

Many of Changi’s staff have repetitive and labour-intensive jobs. These staff can be retrained and redeployed, their tiring work taken over by baggage-handling robotic arms like BRO, a Baggage Robotic Operator that has cameras to help it identify and lift a variety of baggage.

Changi has already rolled out fully driverless autonomous tractors that are equipped with multiple sensors and cameras to transport baggage, marking a major step towards its “airside of the future” vision.

Not every innovation goes as planned. A search-and-rescue robot to help free up firefighting resources was found to have connectivity issues, but its omnidirectional wheels inspired the team to add wheels to hoses to reduce drag and make them easier to pull.

To increase capacity while maintaining standards, Changi is experimenting with video analytics that track, predict and avert possible delays. It also uses industry-leading foreign object detection system, iFerret, to keep runways safe 24/7 in all weather.

If you hate queues, you’ll love Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA), which has transformed border clearance with its New Clearance Concept (NCC). Offering automated and contactless clearance for passengers, I pass through on my way home in less than 60 seconds.

Changi Airport’s four terminals last year handled record traffic of almost 70 million passengers, with a capacity of 90 million. The ambitious Terminal 5 is set to open in the 2030s as part of the Changi East project and work is well underway on the 1080ha site. Its initial capacity will be around 50 million passenger movements a year.

Before Terminal 5 opens, Changi has $3 billion of improvements planned. This includes the refurbishment of Terminal 3, rejuvenation of the Skytrain that connects the terminals, and a 60 per cent expansion of Terminal 1’s arrival immigration halls.

Hotel Indigo, due to open in 2028 at Terminal 2, will feature Singapore’s first zero-energy hotel design, a rooftop infinity pool, day club, gym, and an immersive Floating Forest spanning seven storeys.

+ Sue Yeap was a guest of Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.