AI robot now helps travelers at San José airport

If you’ve ever wandered through struggling to find your gate, something to eat or a place to charge your phone, this could make things a lot easier.

At San José Mineta International Airport in California, travelers can now get help from a named José. It greets passengers, answers questions and helps people find their way around the terminal.

You’ll find it in Terminal B near Gate 24, where travelers are already stopping to try it out.

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José was developed by IntBot, a Silicon Valley startup focused on that understand human behavior and intent.

José is powered by IntEngine, IntBot’s proprietary system that combines vision, audio and language in real time to coordinate speech, facial expressions and gestures. This allows the robot to understand social context and decide when and how to interact with people in busy public spaces. Here’s what stands out:

José stands about 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs roughly 152 pounds and runs on a 700wh battery that lasts about two hours per charge. It also features more than 40 points of movement and can turn within about 2 feet, helping it navigate tight airport spaces.

“This marks our first airport deployment,” Lei Yang, CEO at IntBot, told CyberGuy. “José is our first real-world test of how humanoids can help travelers navigate airports across language barriers. Our goal is to help travelers feel more confident before they depart. But we’re also learning something harder to measure, which is how people actually respond to embodied AI systems in their daily path. These learnings will shape how IntBot brings humanoid robots into the world responsibly.”

 

Airports are under pressure to move people faster while improving the experience. At the same time, cities want to show they can lead in tech innovation. San Jose is leaning into both.

“San José continues to lead in applying emerging technologies in ways that improve everyday experiences for residents and visitors,” said San José City Manager Jennifer Maguire. With major global events like the FIFA World Cup expected to bring in waves of international travelers, language barriers and navigation challenges become a bigger issue.

José helps solve that. It offers instant answers without lines, confusion or the need to track down staff. “By piloting IntBot, we’re exploring how artificial intelligence can enhance the passenger journey while reinforcing SJC’s role as the gateway to Silicon Valley,” said Mookie Patel, director of aviation at San José Mineta International Airport.

City officials also see this as a live test. The airport becomes a real-world lab to see under pressure.

This rollout is not permanent yet. It is part of a four-month pilot program. That means the airport is watching closely:

If it works, you can expect more robots like this, not just in airports but in hospitals, hotels and public buildings. The bigger idea is “social intelligence” for machines. That means robots that don’t just follow commands but understand context, tone and human behavior.

 

Whether you fly once a year or all the time, this could change how you get around busy airports. Instead of searching for signs or waiting in line, you might just walk up to a robot and ask:

“Where’s my gate?”
“Is my flight delayed?”
“Where can I grab food nearby?“

For the impact could be even bigger. Language barriers can slow everything down. A system that instantly switches languages helps make things clearer and quicker. That said, there are still questions. Not ever