GE Aviation rolls out app that allows airport visitors to see how, when things were cleaned
Albany International Airport is currently using 45 QR codes for the app
General Electric Aviation is rolling out a new app that allows airport visitors to see how and when certain objects were cleaned using a QR code on their phones to avoid touching certain surfaces while traveling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Andrew Coleman, GE Aviation chief digital officer and digital group general manager, on Thursday told FOX Business' "Mornings with Maria" that GE's Wellness Trace app currently uses 45 QR codes at Albany International Airport in New York.
"We just believe humanity’s at their best when they’re together," Coleman said.
GE Wellness Trace app (FBN screenshot)
Restaurants across the country have already adopted QR-code menus, which allows diners to access online menus simply by taking photos of a QR code, which prompts phones to display links that lead to digital menus. The Wellness Trace App works in a similar fashion, based on blockchain technology.
Using the app, airport visitors can take photos of QR codes that may be placed in a bathroom, on a kiosk, at a Chick-fil-A and eventually other locations within Albany International Airport and others in the future.
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"We have 45 QR codes that have been up for some time now. We’ve been practicing getting ready for today," Coleman said. "I was on the phone with New Zealand last evening. We’ve been in conversations with Dubai. Airports all over the world are interested in this."
Albany International is the first airport to deploy this kind of technology, Coleman added.
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"We're proud to have GE partner with Albany International Airport, as we advance our new and forward-looking Master Plan that will establish a benchmark for the future design and operation of the nation's airports," Philip Calderone, CEO of the Albany County Airport Authority, said in a Wednesday statement.
Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy said in a statement that the technology "may help travelers feel safer since COVID-19 has changed our world."
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"Being able to scan a QR code and know the last time that surface at the airport was cleaned may alleviate some of the stress and uncertainty people are feeling as they venture out and bring back a sense of confidence," he said. "Any reassurance we can give people as they travel that they are doing so safely is important."