Technologies once confined to sci-fi are becoming everyday tools on the tarmac. Among them is Boston Dynamics’ dog-like robot, Spot, which has moved from novelty to a meaningful part of air freight innovation. As showcased in recent tests at Munich Airport, Spot isn’t just walking around for show—it’s actively helping reshape how cargo operations function in a digital, automated future.

“Actually, the beauty about the Boston Dynamics Spot is that it’s a ready system that can already be used,” says Dr.-Ing Harald Sieke, Head of Aviation Logistics at Fraunhofer IML. “We can test our sensory systems. We can reprogram it with a new AI system.”

During field trials in Munich, Spot did far more than patrol. “We looked at whether and how Spot can monitor and identify pallets—empty or loaded—so that you do not have to look for them anymore,” Sieke explains. The robot was integrated into a larger system involving an autonomous forklift and two other robotic platforms, developed at Fraunhofer.

“Spot was kind of telling the others where they could find the pallets,” he says. “The autonomous system—the forklift—would come, pick it up, hand it over to the next system. So we kind of covered all processes through the warehouse here. It’s really a representative for the whole system and showing that there are things possible.”

Yet, the tests didn’t just highlight success—they also revealed where future research is needed. “We are now able to identify maybe some blind spots that we still need to cover or do even more research on,” Sieke notes.

Filling the labour Gap

The potential of robotics in aviation logistics isn’t just about futuristic appeal—it’s rooted in solving real-world problems like labor shortages and workplace safety. “In our high-sledge vision, it’s an entirely autonomous operating system,” Sieke says. “That means you bring your cargo somewhere and you have your autonomous transport interfaces through the system.”

While full automation is still some way off, the current generation of robots and systems are playing a transitional role. “We need to go first steps,” he says. “Those first steps help us fill those jobs that we are not getting people into anymore, and support those who remain.”

Robotics isn’t a threat to human jobs, Sieke stresses—instead, it’s a tool for support and empowerment. “It makes the job more attractive, it makes it less burdensome in terms of muscle power needed,” he says. “Some are even crawling down below into the belly of an aircraft—those are uncomfortable tasks. In the beginning, we see these systems taking over and helping us fill the lack of people, while making the job more enjoyable for those who stay.”

Efficiency, too, is a major driver. “In future, we will have the lack of people—and maybe at a certain point not only the lack but also the price for the people,” Sieke explains. “We really have to increase our efficiency.”

He points to aircraft turnaround times as a critical case: “The aircraft is there to fly. If you have a shortened turnaround by such systems, then you’re winning money at the end. You’re getting your most expensive resource back into the air—where you make money.”

The broader digital testbed

Fraunhofer’s vision doesn’t stop at Spot. The innovation lab operates a wider digital testbed, combining robotics, AI, computer vision, and automation to reimagine how cargo moves. The challenge now isn’t inventing each technology, but orchestrating them into a system that works.

“We are looking right now into robotic systems, but we have artificial intelligence as well,” says Sieke. “We could have AI helping us with predictive analytics, predictive maintenance, and computer vision—things like identifying dimensions and properties, then calculating a build-up for a ULD pallet.”

It’s a modular approach—develop and deploy parts that can work individually but shine when combined. “There are different topics here that can be covered by multiple systems,” he says. “And the beauty currently is that we have the systems.”

That orchestration, however, is a real challenge. “We as a research organisation for applied research—it’s important that those things out there are already being used or the new ones are being developed in a way that we can use them in a short term of time,” Sieke explains.

The goal is to integrate today’s functional tools with tomorrow’s evolving tech. “We are able to compose them into a system that is ready today, but also ready maybe tomorrow—and maybe the day after tomorrow,” he says. “And we can define by systems like Spot much better what needs to be done to achieve what, in which time frame.”

Designing for today, preparing for tomorrow

The future of aviation logistics isn’t just being theorised—it’s being built, tested, and refined in places like Fraunhofer’s digital testbed and live trials at major airports. From reducing physical strain on ground crews to streamlining aircraft turnaround, the stakes are high—and the gains, potentially transformative.

This next generation of innovation is not about removing people from logistics, but about removing inefficiencies, dangers, and limitations. As Dr. Harald Sieke puts it, “It’s about making jobs better, making processes smarter, and preparing our systems—not just for what they need to be today, but for what they’ll have to be tomorrow.”