Miami airport rolls out geo-aware AI across operations
Miami International Airport (MIA) has launched a large-scale deployment of geo-aware, agentic AI, introducing a new operational intelligence layer across the airport.
The ‘MIA Virtual Assistant’, developed with Mappedin alongside Satisfi Labs and Hypervsn, delivers real-time, location-based guidance across web, mobile, kiosks and holographic interfaces.
Rather than building a new platform from scratch, MIA focused on integrating existing systems into a single data environment capable of supporting AI at scale.
“We recognised early that the key to deploying geo-aware AI was not waiting for a fully built enterprise common data environment but having the insight to unify the digital strengths we already had and the operational capacity to evolve them into a fully integrated spatial intelligence ecosystem,” an MIA spokesperson told the Airports AI Alliance.
The approach draws on operational data including security checkpoint wait times, gate information and parking to support real-time, location-aware responses.
The rollout addresses limitations in previous wayfinding systems, which relied on downloadable apps and physical infrastructure.
“Our legacy wayfinding approach built around a downloadable app and beacon-based navigation was creating friction for travellers and limiting adoption,” the spokesperson added. “The system worked within its constraints, but it required passengers to install an app, depended on physical hardware, and could not adapt guidance based on real time conditions.”
The new system provides consistent information across channels without requiring downloads. Passenger interactions and movement patterns are captured as part of the platform, providing a view of demand and behaviour across the terminal.
“For airport operations, the questions travellers ask, the requests they make, and the movement patterns the platform observes create a cumulative view of the questions and behaviours that matter most,” they said. “Over time, these interactions reveal where travellers struggle, which areas generate the most inquiries, and where bottlenecks tend to form.”
The system runs within MIA’s Microsoft Azure environment, with governance, data control and security managed through existing airport IT frameworks.
“Airports have become complex ecosystems, and geo intelligence is a new layer of the digital infrastructure,” said Yuval Kossovsky, Managing Director of Transportation at Mappedin. “With Mappedin, we’re transforming indoor mapping from a static reference tool into a living system that perceives, reasons, and acts. Miami International Airport is showing the industry what’s possible.”