GS Caltex Introduces Robot Delivery Service Following Drones

GS Caltex Gas Station Hosts Drone and Robot Delivery Demonstration Event

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] GS Caltex is launching a delivery service that combines drones and robots, using gas stations as hubs.

On the 13th, GS Caltex held a drone and robot delivery demonstration event at Jangdo, Yeosu. About 30 officials attended the event, including Kang Kyung-sung, Director of Industrial Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Kwon Oh-bong, Mayor of Yeosu; Kim Ki-tae, President of GS Caltex; and Park Jong-hyun, Director of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).

The demonstration began with a resident artist on Jangdo ordering daily necessities from the GS25 convenience store via a mobile app. Then, a drone from Neon Tech, a drone manufacturer, loaded products from a nearby GS25 convenience store at the GS Caltex Soho gas station, flew across the sea route 0.9 km to the Jangdo lawn plaza, where an autonomous driving robot from Unmanned Solution, a specialist in autonomous driving, received the products and delivered them 0.7 km to the Jangdo Creative Studio, completing the delivery.

By utilizing gas stations as drone delivery hubs, GS Caltex is expected to enable more convenient and faster logistics services in the future. Additionally, it will be possible to deliver daily necessities and relief supplies contactlessly to island areas where access to existing distribution infrastructure is difficult, greatly benefiting residents in logistics blind spots. Furthermore, even if the drone cannot take off or land at the ordered location, combining drones and autonomous driving robots will allow delivery to the customer's desired place.

Starting with this demonstration event, GS Caltex plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute to continuously conduct pilot tests of island area deliveries using drones and robots in Yeosu, striving for commercialization.

Prior to this event, GS Caltex held a drone delivery demonstration for fuel samples at the Incheon Logistics Center in April, and in June, a drone delivery demonstration for convenience store products at the Musucheon Gas Station in Jeju Island. Since 2015, GS Caltex has also been using drones at the Yeosu plant to inspect corrosion and cracks on equipment surfaces that are difficult for personnel to access.

A GS Caltex official said, "In response to the increasing demand for eco-friendly energy and changes in the mobility environment, we will develop gas stations as hubs that provide not only typical services such as fueling, car washing, and maintenance but also various mobility services including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen vehicle charging, car sharing, and drone and robot delivery."