Mobility challenged travelers at Sea-Tac International Airport have a high-tech new option for getting to their gates: self-driving, electric wheelchairs.
Alaska Airlines is testing 10 of the mobility devices at the Seattle-area airport. More than 1,500 of the airline’s passengers have tried the wheelchairs since the initiative launched in mid August.
“We are pleased with how the program is progressing. The devices provide riders with more freedom, confidence and an improved customer experience,” said an Alaska Airlines spokesperson by email.
The airline declined to say if it will be purchasing the devices and offering them as a permanent service.
The sleek-looking wheelchairs are made by Whill, a company based in California and Japan. In the past year, it has been rolling out its devices for test programs as well as regular use at multiple airports in the U.S. and abroad.
Passengers needing assistance use a touch screen to select their departure gate and the autonomously driving wheelchairs motor them to their destination. The chair can navigate passenger-less back to its station — creating what some have dubbed a ghostly vibe — to pick up a new traveler.
The tech is being deployed at Sea-Tac’s C and D concourses, and the wheelchairs can be programmed to follow specific routes through an airport.
The company touts its wheelchairs as a labor-saving strategy, as they don’t require an attendant to navigate passengers to their gates. Similar to self-driving cars, the wheelchairs use cameras and sensors to detect and avoid other travelers and obstacles.
