This WALL-E Self-Driving Pod Wants To Replace The Airport Wheelchair (And Much More)

InnovationConsumer TechThis WALL-E Self-Driving Pod Wants To Replace The Airport Wheelchair (And Much More)ByJohn Koetsier,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Journalist, analyst, author, podcaster.Follow AuthorJun 03, 2026, 07:21pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This Wall-E style pod is autonomous, quick, and recharges itself. And it might soon be in use at an airport near you ... or a mall, or conference, or any of a number of other places.A&K RoboticsA few years ago, it might have been tough for a self-driving machine to navigate through a mall or airport. Today, that’s largely solved. The harder part? Navigating crowds of busy, hurrying people – including children and the elderly – without any accidents or even incidents. A&K Robotics is betting they’ve got that solved, and they’ve got a fancy new $8 million round of funding and deals with Vancouver International Airport and Madrid based airport operator Aena to bolster their claim.I recently sat down with CEO Matthew Anderson at Web Summit Vancouver to talk about Cruz, A&K's autonomous pod for airports. "If you can solve autonomous navigation through a crowded airport, you can solve autonomous navigation through almost anything," Anderson told me.The pitch is simple: instead of waiting for a wheelchair and a staff member to push it, a traveler with mobility challenges walks up to a pod, sits down, taps in a destination, and the pod takes them anywhere in the terminal on its own. Or, using the airport’s app (finally, a reason to download an airport app!) you call it to your location and zip off wherever you need to go.So: WALL-E, basically. Or the Jetsons, if you prefer. I told Anderson I’ve got a bad knee right now and wouldn’t mind one myself for a large conference like CES in Vegas.Anderson says that A&K isn’t starting in airports becaus...