Getting on an airplane should be the start of a relaxing trip to another location. But nothing triggers panic quite so much as seeing your baggage precariously balancing on towing vehicles from outside the plane window prior to departure. Thankfully, these human-driven baggage tow 'tractors' could soon be a thing of the past.
British Airways is to start using a self-driving baggage robot called 'Auto-DollyTug' at Gatwick Airport later this year. The machines will pick up suitcases from the terminal building and ferry them across the tarmac in closed containers to awaiting aircraft.
Once they reach the aircraft, they will be loaded using human-operated lifts into the cargo hold.