Boston Logan Deploys AI Holograms for Passenger Assistance

Boston Logan Launches AI Hologram Assistant Network

Boston Logan International Airport has deployed eight AI-powered hologram kiosks across its terminals, representing what officials say is the largest implementation of this technology at any U.S. airport. The virtual assistant, named "Amelia" after aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, provides multilingual wayfinding assistance to travelers navigating the airport.

The hologram units are distributed across all terminals, with installations both before and after security checkpoints. Each kiosk can answer questions about gate locations, restaurants, baggage claim areas, and other airport facilities. The system delivers step-by-step directions and generates QR codes that passengers can scan to carry navigation instructions with them on their mobile devices.

Technology Behind the Deployment

The hologram technology comes from Proto, a company founded by David Nussbaum. The system creates what Nussbaum describes as "a two-dimensional projection" on a front window surface, producing the effect of physical presence in real space. While the current Amelia deployment uses pre-programmed AI responses, the underlying platform can also beam live humans as holograms across distances in real-time.

Amelia's software can be programmed with thousands of location data points and supports multiple languages, allowing the airport to serve its diverse international passenger base without requiring multilingual human staff at every information point.

Why it matters

This deployment signals how airports are using AI to scale customer service without proportionally increasing labor costs. With Logan expecting approximately 100,000 interactions in the first year, the technology provides 24/7 assistance capacity that would be expensive to staff with human employees. The approach also frees human customer service representatives to handle more complex passenger needs that require judgment and empathy.

Expansion Plans

According to Mia Healy-Waldron, deputy director of customer service at Logan, the airport views this as an augmentation of its existing team rather than a replacement strategy. Phase two development aims to make Amelia more conversational, enabling open-ended questions beyond the current structured wayfinding queries.

The airport's willingness to position this as the "largest deployment" of hologram AI at any airport suggests confidence in the technology's reception and potential competitive advantage in passenger experience.

These details were first reported by NBC Boston.