A humanoid robot called “Bebop” has delayed a flight out of California Airport due to safety concerns. Booked on a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to San Diego, the aircraft finally arrived an hour late on Thursday (April 30).
Weighing in at around 70 pounds (32 kg), Bebop was set to travel “for work” with its human team. However, airport security became concerned with the actual safety of transporting the robot as a passenger.
While the matter was discussed and ironed out, Bepop reportedly put on a show for the other passengers to pass the time. The issue was eventually resolved, with Bepop allowed to board the plane.
However, this only prompted further questions and delays. “Then they come and start asking, what kind of batteries does it have? What’s going on with this? X, Y, and Z. They want to see it,” Elite Event Robotics’ Eily Ben-Abraham told ABC 11 News.
Humanoid robot delays flight
“And meanwhile, I’m, like, watching his flight, and I keep seeing online, ‘runway delay,’” added Elite Event Robotics’ Chana Ben-Abraham.
According to Southwest Airlines, concerns revolved around the size of Bepop’s lithium batteries. Apparently, they exceeded the airline’s maximum size limit and were later confiscated before the aircraft could take off.
Such limits are common for airlines as battery packs, especially lithium ones, can overheat and catch fire through thermal runaway when damaged. Such fires are extremely difficult to extinguish mid-flight and could put the aircraft and passengers at extreme risk.
Limits vary, but typically anything under 100 Wh is usually allowed in carry-on luggage. Between 100 Wh and 160 Wh, batteries are sometimes allowed with prior approval from the airline.
Anything above 160 Wh, which Bepop is powered by, is usually explicitly banned. Hence the airline’s concerns.
Given the novel situation, airline and airport staff needed to work within flight safety protocol on the fly to decide what actions to take. This required them to verify the battery pack used, check that it complied with aviation safety rules, and physically inspect it.
Issues were around its batteries
The delay was compounded by the fact that the battery needed to be removed from Bepop and the aircraft.
This would have required coordination between the crew, ground staff, and even airport security. ABC 11 reports that Elite Event Robotics is now working to have the confiscated batteries returned by the airline before a scheduled event.
“He’ll be there on Sunday,” Chana Ben-Abraham told ABC 11. “We’re overnighting batteries to Chicago tomorrow to hopefully be able to fulfill the next event request.”
That’s not a surprise, as large batteries of this kind are typically shipped as regulated cargo. To this end, they are handled via specialized handling channels, not in the cabin with passengers.
When asked if Bepop will be traveling by air again in the future, the team was explicit that it would. “At the moment, we got him under 100 pounds, so I shouldn’t have to worry about actually, like, walking him through the terminals,” Eily Ben-Abraham added.
