中文标题：手机变智能 机场更要变“智能”

　　据SITA调查，2014年全球机场共投资约70亿美元用于提升移动技术实力，以满足旅客需求，因为97%的旅客至少每人手持一部手机。

　　调查还显示，短期内有两种科技会对机场有较大影响。

　　一种是“蓝牙发射器”。这是一种低耗能的小型发射器，它能向智能手机发射蓝牙信号；

　　另一种是可穿戴式智能设备。如眼镜、智能环、手表等。旅客能通过这些移动设备获得更多服务，如自助值机、行李托运和行李追踪、帮助残障人士登机等。

Few would deny that smartphones merit the label, given the features they contain compared with their analogue ancestors. Can these devices now help airports morph into “smart airports” to ease the stress of international travel?
 
Airport operators and airlines are spending heavily on technology based on the assumption that new devices can assist passengers in avoiding such horrors as missed boarding an-nouncements, security check queues and gate-change confusion.
 
A survey released this month by air transport information technology specialist SITA calculated that airports are investing almost $7bn this year on improving their IT prowess in order to keep up with customers, 97 per cent of whom carry at least one mobile device.
 
This is the largest amount spent by the industry in this way in the past five years, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of revenue.
 
SITA says the two technologies most likely to have an impact on airports in the short term are “tracking beacons” – small, low-powered transmitters that send Bluetooth signals that can be picked up by smartphones – and wearable devices.
 
The majority of the 50 busiest airports in the world are planning to experiment with beacons over the next three years. Those running beacon pilot programmes include Copenhagen, Shanghai Hongqiao and Miami.

Airlines are also interested. EasyJet trialled beacon technology this year at its three busiest airports – London Luton, London Gatwick and Paris Charles de Gaulle.

The trial involved sending alerts to iPhone users who had downloaded the EasyJet app, reminding the more disorganised passengers to have their passport and boarding pass ready when approaching security checks.
 
BA already uses beacons to send the WiFi password to passengers when they enter its lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Users of BA apps are also alerted when their gate is open and when the aircraft is ready for boarding.
 
Tom Stone, managing director of travel management outsourcer Sirius Travel Solutions, says the growth of push notifications and other electronic nudges “will be really welcome in the US where there seem to be more sudden gate changes than anywhere else”.

However, not all the extra flight information options that are emerging are dependent on passengers carrying a smartphone. For instance, Lufthansa customers using Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport can scan their boarding cards at self-service check-in machines to find up to date information about their flight.

The SITA survey found that a fifth of the 50 busiest airports are planning to look at services for wearable devices, such as the forthcoming Apple Watch, over the next three years.
 
Airlines are on the case here too. After a trial earlier this year, Virgin Atlantic plans to roll out Google Glass and Sony SmartWatches next year for staff greeting passengers arriving by limousine at its Upper Class Wing at Heathrow. Alerted by the technology, they will be able to step forward with everything to hand as the vehicle draws up.

The American Airlines app designed for the Apple Watch will provide travellers with pre-trip notifications, gate change alerts, and other gate information when arriving at connecting airports and boarding times.
 
The wave of investment in technology will not always delight passengers. Those who prefer face-to-face contact may be dismayed to learn that by 2017, some 85 per cent of airports expect the majority of their passengers to use self-service check-in, says SITA.