TOKYO, Oct. 14, 2019 - ANA HOLDINGS INC. (hereinafter "ANA HD") is unveiling its new “avatar-in” service platform at CEATEC 2019, the first step in creating futuristic social infrastructure services around the world - known as Society 5.0. Combining its air travel capabilities with the connectivity of Avatars, ANA HD is working to reduce barriers to travel and enable everyone to equally participate in society.

"ANA HD is built on connecting people and Avatars have the potential to connect people across the world in a way that traditional travel cannot and is a continuation of our core beliefs", said Shinya Katanozaka, President and CEO of ANA HD. "Our vision of a better connected planet will rely on the latest innovations in haptic robotics, VR/AR and AI to transform the way that humans interact. By placing the world at your fingertips, Avatars will open up new possibilities and help reshape everything from business and education to healthcare and entertainment."

ANA HD’s Avatar program will be powered by the core-service platform avatar-in, scheduled for release in April 2020, which will facilitate interactivity between Avatar robots and their operators. Though the platform will be compatible with a wide range of Avatar models and technologies, ANA HD will be conducting initial tests with its new original Avatar robot "newme"1. Each newme has the capability to transmit full-HD, 2K video that will allow users to see and interact with the robot's surroundings in high resolution. Furthermore, newme has customizable body accessories that can be adjusted to fit a variety of deployment needs. The newme can be controlled from a remote location and ANA HD aims to deploy 1,000 of these robots by summer 2020.

By providing a new means of connecting people, Avatars have the potential to expand opportunities for a wide range of people, making it possible for the elderly and those with disabilities to fully participate in society and even find employment. ANA HD envisions the newme Avatar being used by the general public in scenarios such as shopping and enjoying sports matches from remote locations.

ANA HD will be collaborating with partner companies and local governments to create an Avatar social infrastructure worldwide. This far-reaching plan will change the way that mobility is leveraged to solve social issues, and help create a society that exponentially increases freedom to learn, share and move.

Contact : ANA Corporate Communications, TEL +81-3-6735-1111, publicrelations@ana.co.jp

About ANA
Following the "Inspiration of Japan" high quality of service, ANA has been awarded the respected 5-Star rating every year since 2013 from SKYTRAX. ANA is the only Japanese airline to win this prestigious designation seven years in a row. Additionally, ANA has been recognized by Air Transport World as "Airline of the Year" three times in the past 10 years - 2007, 2013 and 2018, becoming one of the few airlines winning this prestigious award for multiple times.

ANA was founded in 1952 with two helicopters and has become the largest airline in Japan, as well as one of the most significant airlines in Asia, operating 82 international routes and 121 domestic routes. ANA offers a unique dual hub model which enables passengers to travel to Tokyo and connect through the two airports in the metropolitan Tokyo, NARITA and HANEDA, to various destinations throughout Japan, and also offers same day connections between various North American, Asian and Chinese cities.

ANA has been a member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint venture partnerships with United Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines.

Besides the full service and award winner carrier ANA, the ANA Group has two LCCs as consolidated subsidiaries, Vanilla Air Inc. and Peach Aviation Limited. The ANA Group carried 54.4 million passengers in FY2018, has approximately 43,000 employees and a fleet of 260 aircraft. ANA is a proud launch customer and the biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

For more information, please refer to the following link.
https://www.ana.co.jp/group/en/