Russia airline completes live test of ‘flight attendant robot’

The humanoid robot called Volodya ‘worked’ as a cabin crew assistant on a recent Ulyanovsk–Moscow flight.

The airline said it presented the pre-flight safety briefing and was able to interact with passengers.

Volodya completed scripted movements during announcements and greeted passengers.

It said the tasks completed by the robot were basic and there is no plan to replace human flight attendants in the foreseeable future.

Volodya didn’t serve passengers food or drink.

During the safety briefing, it mimicked actions of a human flight attendant through ‘reinforcement learning technology.’

Pobeda is the fully owned low-cost operator of Russian flag carrier Aeroflot.