Local startup tests automated baggage handling system at Pittsburgh International Airport

In a corner just above where suitcases move from rolling container to conveyor belt, David Lee and his colleagues at a startup called Journey Robotics are working with Pittsburgh International Airport on an automated baggage handling system that could revolutionize the last mile between aircraft and carousel.

Using a conveyor belt, a baggage container with dozens of suitcases stacked inside, and a system designed and carried out by Journey Robotics, a yellow arm fitted with sensors and a large vacuum selects and then grabs a suitcase from the pile. The vacuum’s strong enough to take the suitcase and raise it onto a tray, then swing it up, over and down onto the conveyor belt. Each bag’s handle faces forward and its front side is up, so the bags move smoothly through the system and to the waiting passengers.

“That’s what they call ‘bag hygiene’ in the business,” Lee said.