New York and London airport avatars: Is faking it better than the real thing?

by Zoe Li, Hong Kong Editor

"I can be whatever you want me to be." As Jimmy Kimmel asks, "How is this not a sex robot?"

What's better than real human contact? Virtual human contact, of course.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last week that life-size digital projections of customer care representatives will start work this summer at three airports.

After reviewing about 10,000 comments from the public, the Port Authority found that travelers want more human interaction when transiting through airports.

Instead of training existing staff, machines that project virtual assistants have been rented for a six-month trial, costing US$180,000.

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