Los Angeles International is not my favorite airport. It’s crowded, has nine (nine!) terminals that take forever to navigate, and traffic blows once you get in your rental car and head to the Sunset Strip.
But all will be forgotten on my next trip through Los Angeles if NomNom, the airport’s new delivery robot, brings me food.
That’s right. LAX announced today it’s launching a pilot program for a 40-pound cargo bot by the name of NomNom. NomNom is a two-wheeled semi-autonomous top-loading delivery bot that moves at 6 miles per hour and uses a human guide to navigate the airport.
NomNom is being rolled out in partnership with AtYourGate, a food delivery service provider for airports that powers the food delivery service at LAX. When a consumer orders food through the airport’s food delivery portal LAX Order Now, guests at eligible terminals will be given an option to have a delivery or an additional fee. In addition, travelers will be given an estimated delivery time to ensure their food gets there before they have to rush off to catch a flight.
The robot, which uses cameras and sensors to follow its handler around the airport, is a gita, the delivery bot designed and built by Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF), a division of Piaggio Group, the maker of the Vespa scooter (could we see a Vespa delivery bot someday?). This is the second US airport to roll out a gita (Philly was first).
Airports have proven to be a favorite testing ground for food robots of all kinds. First, it was coffee bots like Cafe-X and Briggo, then came ramen, and now it looks like delivery bots are rolling in.
You can check out NomNom in the video below.
Well, won’t this be fun. If the thing has to follow a human, it might be more cost effective to have the human just pull a little wagon around to deliver the food.