Athena, a humanoid robot with hands, a head, and feet wearing red stylish sneaker is the first robot to travel as regularly billed passenger. She boarded a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Germany on Monday.
Athena, being pushed in a wheelchair, created a scene when she got her ticket at the counter of Lufthansa.
Athena was built by Sarcos, a robotics and engineering company in Salt Lake City. Athena was bought by Max Planck Society in Germany. Max Planck Society together with the University of Southern California researchers are attempting to program Athena to do tasks that are considered dangerous for humans like cleanup Fukushima Japan's nuclear disaster.
Alexander Herzog, a doctoral student of Max Planck said that they do not want humans to sacrifice their lives just to go there [Fukushima, Japan]." "I would like to have a robot achieve the same task, such as opening up the doors and cleaning up," he added.
The software that will make her legs stand and move is still on process, even if she can move her arms and has blue glows in her mouth on a white head that has sensors and camera.
She gets special treatment even if her ticket was economy. The robot did not go through the usual metal detector. Nancy Suey Castles, Airport spokeswoman, said that the Transportation Security Administration provided a special electronic pat-down.
During the flight, like a normal passenger, she was strapped to her seat in the off position. She was accompanied by Herzog and Jeannette Bhog, Max Planck Society's senior research scientist.
Lufthansa's representatives are not available for comment.
It is possible that Athena will be shipped similar with other electronic gear. Castles said that the scientists desired to see the response of human when they see a robot boarding in a plane.
"It's cheaper to get a seat," Herzog said.