GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — With summer on the way and Memorial Day weekend around the corner, many people are going to be traveling soon.
Many are going to be flying. There is a new technology for those with mobility issues that could make getting around the airport a little easier.
On Wednesday, companies were able to showcase their equipment and how they could streamline operations at the airport.
"So we're doing trials that several major airports have done. Atlanta, Dallas, Toronto, San Jose and several other ones," Whill North America Business Director Shannon Fain told FOX17.
The newest and latest technology on full display at West Michigan Aviation Academy.
"So we are a company that makes mobility devices to help people travel, you know, vacations trips, but also day to day needs," Fain added.
Whill and two other companies, Aurrigo and Sunflower Labs, are part of the pilot program called The Ford Launchpad for Innovative Technologies and Entrepreneurship or FLITE for short.
"We have a vibrant environment with passengers, aircraft, cars, taxis, Ubers, and Lifts. And we wanted to somehow leverage that to provide opportunities to maybe startup companies, companies, and maybe a mature stage that just needed that kind of live airport kind of test environment to really kind of, you know, make their products better, and ultimately, potentially scale those solutions on a global scale," Gerald R. Ford International Airport Chief Operating Officer Alex Peric said.
During Whill's testing period at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport, they've been able to have close to 200 people use this autonomous personal device.
All the riders did was get in and tell the device where to go next. Fain says more than 90% of riders gave high ratings.
"So you don't have to steer, you don't have to accelerate break or anything. It has sensors built-in here in the front and underneath that can detect if there's something in the way, and it'll stop," Fain said.
Right now, the company has two chairs at the airport. Shannon says at one airport in Japan with 12 of these self-guiding wheelchairs, they had around 27,000 rides in one year. The technology, he says, could also potentially help people who live and visit West Michigan.
"One big thing is we don't be ourselves as competing against companies that do push people in wheelchairs," Fain said. "So we're more a tool for pushing companies to use rather than competition. So they could use us for the short, you know, Guy hurt his knee. You know, that's it, no special medical equipment."
The self-guiding wheelchair will be tested at Ford Airport through Memorial Day weekend. Other companies included a drone for security and technology to move equipment.
At this point, it's unclear if any of it will come to the airport permanently.
Southwest Airlines did surprise all the companies by offering free flights to other airports to continue their testing.
