Haneda automated service chairs

This item appears on page 11 of the November 2021 issue.

In Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in Japan, passengers with mobility issues can hop on automated electric wheelchairs. The WHILL Automated Mobility Service chairs can be found at stations after the security check and in gate areas.

WHILL chairs include instructions in English. A person sits in the chair and chooses a destination within the airport from a prompt on a cell phone-sized screen. The chair then drives itself without any need for airport staff or a travel partner to push it. Using sensors, the chair will automatically stop or move to avoid any obstacle, including people. The passenger can stop the chair at any time using a prominently displayed “pause” button.

After the passenger has arrived at the destination, the chair returns to the nearest WHILL station on its own.