Dublin Airport opens Ireland’s first AI operated shop
Tabitha Monahan and Sarah Burke
Dublin Airport has opened its first store operated by artificial
intelligence, which will see no long queues for the checkout.
The shop, which is located at the airport’s terminal one arrivals gate,
is the first of its kind to open in Ireland and sells everything from
coffee and pastries to cereal, milk and toiletries.
Shoppers will have to scan their payment card at the entrance to the
store in order to gain entry. Then with a combination of camera
technology and weight-sensor-enabled shelving, AI will detect what
customers are buying and then charge the card they used to scan into the
shop.
The store, called “Dublin Town To Go”, is cashless and offers a
“frictionless, checkout-free experience for passengers,” the airport said.
The venture is in partnership with international food operator SSP,
which operates many of the food and drinks offerings at the airport.
Dublin Airport’s Chief Commercial and Development Officer at Dublin
Airport, Vincent Harrison, said the shop will bring a new and different
experience to passengers.
“Dublin Airport is excited to be the home of the first concept store of
this kind to be opened in Ireland,” Mr Harrison said.
“Whether passengers want to pick up a pre-flight sandwich and coffee, or
essentials such as milk and cereal after arriving back into Dublin
Airport, the technology deployed in "Dublin Town To Go" means they can
do it quickly and in a hassle-free manner,” he added.
The shop will operate 24 hours a day and so far, has been popular with
passengers who don’t speak English, Graeme McQueen, Media Relations
Manager at DAA said.
“It’s perfect for those working or arriving into Dublin Airport late at
night. So far it’s proving particularly popular with passengers arriving
into Dublin who don’t speak English, and also with those who want to
quickly grab a sandwich or drink after they land and don’t have time to
queue.” Mr McQueen said.
While there will be no staff in the new shop to welcome customers, Mr
McQueen says AI technology has been used throughout the airport for some
time.
“The human touch will always be integral to the delivery of a warm
welcome and experience at Dublin Airport, but we definitely see good
potential to utilise AI and automation to make the airport easier and
quicker to navigate.
“Automation is already present throughout the airport, from airline
check-in desks and passport control through to our €1 water bottles
after security screening which have a handy contactless payment option,”
Mr McQueen said.
While this is the first of its kind here in Ireland, similar stores have
opened in UK and US, with Amazon opening its first ‘Amazon Fresh’ shop
in west London in 2021. Like the store in Dublin Airport, there are no
checkouts. Instead, customers were required to scan a code to get in,
with their Amazon Prime account charged for the goods purchased.
However earlier this year, the online retail giant announced it would
close the Ealing Broadway store along with two other of its London shops.
Irish Independent
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