The New Economy Collaborative of Southwestern Pennsylvania announced a $62.7 million Build Back Better grant toward workforce development in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow Technical.ly’s coverage of the 11-county project here.
A local robotics startup, fresh out of stealth mode, wants to make the airport experience a little easier.
Founded just over a year ago, Journey Robotics is moving fast to introduce its new robot into airports to improve worker safety and luggage transportation efficiency. The baggage handling startup is currently in talks with multiple airports, including an unnamed “local group,” to introduce the technology in a real-world setting later this year, according to cofounder and CEO Reeg Allen.
“We’re right on the precipice of that,” Allen told Technical.ly. “We’re in discussions on hopefully getting into our first airport environment and being able to demo it here in May.”
Journey’s robot is designed to load and unload baggage carts and containers used to transport baggage on aircrafts called unit load devices (ULDs). The startup’s first generation prototype is currently testing its abilities in a warehouse, moving bags that weigh 30 to 50 pounds.
Guidance from the International Air Transport Association directs travelers to limit bags to under 50 pounds for the health and safety of airport workers. With about 12% of all travel luggage weighing about 50 pounds, according to Allen, this can pose a real risk for workers, which Journey is looking to address.
Testing has shown Journey’s robot can load and unload baggage carts and ULDs at speeds up to 7.5 bags per minute and is capable of moving over 85% of checked bags weighing up to about 70 pounds, Allen said, which is the maximum weight limit for luggage in the US.
In comparison, humans can do short sprints of about 12 bags per minute, moving a bag every five seconds, according to Allen. While humans can technically be faster, they can lack consistency as they need breaks and have the potential for injuries, he said.
“I’ve talked to a lot of airlines recently,” Allen said, “and they’ve told me they often have to plan for an 18% [injury rate] and usually average somewhere in that 10% to 12%.”
That’s anecdotal evidence because injury data in the aviation industry remains flawed, according to reporting from the Wall Street Journal. An analysis of OSHA data in 2023 showed a 17% increase since 2019 in injuries per 100 aviation industry employees requiring at least one day away from work.
However, a closer look at airline-specific data showed more dramatic increases in injuries among ground-handling employees, those that generally handle baggage, suggesting inconsistencies in reporting to the federal agency, per the reporting.
A new startup based on a failed past merger
The Journey Robotics name has two meanings, Allen said. It has a direct tie to the travel industry, and it aims to continue the journey of Allen’s former employer RE2 Robotics, a local startup success story that had its potential cut short in 2023.
RE2 Robotics, which specialized in the development of intelligent mobile manipulation systems, went public in 2022 as part of a $100 million acquisition by Salt Lake City-based Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation.
Just a year later, Sarcos announced it would lay off 150 employees and suspend its commercialization efforts in robotics hardware to shift its focus to artificial intelligence software.
Allen had served as RE2’s vice president of business development, alongside colleagues that now make up the Journey Robotics team of six. When Sarcos shifted its focus, he recognized a gap in the market that needed to be filled.
“As a lot of mergers go, this one didn’t work out, but it created a great new opportunity for a lot of us to continue the journey and go after something we’re really passionate about,” Allen said.
While Journey’s team brings experience in airport automation and has worked on hundreds of robots for commercial and military use, including underwater robots and those used in Afghanistan’s harsh desert environments, the startup still faces challenges in starting from scratch, Allen said.
RE2 had a team of over 100 people and a well-established infrastructure, but all of that vanished with the acquisition. Rebuilding that foundation has been a major hurdle, particularly in terms of learning how to secure investment, Allen explained. Another challenge is the conservative nature of the aviation market.
“It’s a ‘show me’ kind of market,” Allen said. “In JFK [airport], if that baggage handling system stops for 10 minutes, 6,000 bags aren’t making their destination, and it runs 24/7, so they need hardware that works and works well.”
Pittsburgh’s unique advantage to build aviation innovations
Journey’s connection to the Pittsburgh robotics ecosystem is one of the reasons why cofounder Kyle Solomon is optimistic the startup can make a big difference in the aviation industry.
“It’s really important for us to be shrouded in Pittsburgh,” Solomon said, “and I think that drives the team tremendously.”
“That’s the nice thing about Pittsburgh, it’s not a cutthroat environment when it comes to the robotics scene. There’s definitely a lot of people cheering each other on.”
Reeg Allen, Journey Robotics
Journey has the opportunity to tap into Pittsburgh’s rich aviation history, which is continuing to develop today with the Pittsburgh International Airport announcing several partnerships and programs in the last couple of years to support robotic innovations for the aviation industry.
Being part of large organizations like the International Association of Baggage System Companies and the Future Travel Experience Baggage Innovation Working Group, two organizations dedicated to improving baggage handling in the aviation industry, is helping the startup’s reach, Solomon said.
However, it’s the local support that’s motivated the startup team to keep pushing forward, Solomon said, like Journey’s participation in the 2024 cohort of the Robotics Factory Accelerate program.
The startup received a $100,000 investment from the program, which was made possible through the New Economy Collaborative, an effort to distribute $62.7 million in Build Back Better Regional Challenge Grant funding, which is supporting economic development in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
“That’s the nice thing about Pittsburgh, it’s not a cutthroat environment when it comes to the robotics scene,” Allen said. “There’s definitely a lot of people cheering each other on, people helping each other. That’s different from other markets.”
How Journey enters a competitive field of airport innovations
The startup isn’t alone in its mission to improve luggage transportation, it’s part of an industry of baggage handling systems that’s projected to reach $14.3 billion by 2030, according to a 2025 report from market research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc.
Airlines and airports are increasingly investing in automation, but Journey hopes to stand out with the combination of three features.
First, Allen said Journey’s robot has a unique way of grabbing and moving bags. The startup has filed a provisional patent application citing the robot’s end-arm-gripper and vacuum technology that allows the robot to pick up and move bags.
Plus, the robot’s ability to “see the bag, understand one bag from another and how to grab it” can help it stand out from the competition, Allen said. Journey also is combining this with a third-party safety sensor technology that should ensure humans don’t enter the robot’s environment and expose themselves to potential injuries.
“I’d say an ingredient for success is knowing your swim lane and being willing to partner,” Allen said. “It takes a village.”
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