Innovative Future
With access to technology getting cheaper, its use is becoming more ubiquitous in different industries primarily to hasten production process without compromising safety and security.
The air cargo industry continues to embrace digitalization and other facets of technology to speed up the process and reach even the farthest shores seeking access to a reliable, safe and efficient mode of transporting goods.
That is also the case in freight and logistics with artificial intelligence being utilized to uplift industry standards. Smart warehouses are now commonly used and so are robots designed to lift, sort, label or pack cargoes for storage and shipment, among many other things.
In this edition, we’ll examine another new logistics trend known as “reverse logistics” which is essentially connecting chain of post-purchase services designed to increase customer loyalty and minimize return costs for merchants.
We’ll also bring you innovations in airports in the Middle East and across the world giving us a glimpse of what the foreseeable future looks when it comes to handling millions of travelers on a daily basis.
Autonomous trains are now the norm in transporting passengers from one point to another around airports. Passengers in search of information now mostly deal with robots or communicate remotely with humans via computers.
Our eyes, faces and fingers are scanned enabling us to seamlessly go through security checks.
Dubai, among the first globally to introduce automated immigration gates in 2002, adopted during recent years the socalled Smart Gates, which can identify travelers through their passports, Emirates ID (for residents), e-gate card or a government-generated QR barcode.
The Smart Gates, now 127 in number across Dubai Airports, can process immigration security check in less than a minute. The system is available to all UAE citizens and residents, GCC nationals and citizens of a number of countries eligible for visa on arrival.
More than 88 million passengers traveled to Dubai in 2017, making it the top airport in the world in terms of passenger traffic. Of the figure, more than 5 million used the Smart Gates. But in the future, the government plans to introduce Smart Corridors to check all at the same time more people using their biometrics.
We’re all heading for an innovative future in different fronts.
Gemma Q. Casas
Editor-in-Chief
