Autonomous Robots Deployed for Lunch Delivery in Seoul Magok Area
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Robot solution specialist Robotis announced on the 18th that it will pilot a lunch delivery service for one month by linking its self-developed outdoor autonomous driving robot 'Ilgaemi' with Vendis's corporate mobile meal ticket app 'Sikgwon Daejang'.
This pilot service will be conducted targeting office workers in the Magok-dong area of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, with more than 20 robots deployed to deliver lunch. Customers using the service can make reservations and payments through the Sikgwon Daejang app and receive information on the autonomous delivery robot's location, delivery operation status, and food arrival notifications. The robots used for delivery are the second model of 'Ilgaemi', which integrates functions specialized for food delivery to commercialize robot delivery, and completed safety verification by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement last December.
Robotis was selected as a subject for the 'Industrial Convergence Regulatory Sandbox Demonstration Exception' hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2019, and conducted closed beta tests (CBT) in April and November last year. Based on the various information acquired from the previous tests, the number of restaurants available for delivery has been expanded to 10, including coffee shops, snack bars, and bakeries, broadening the menu selection.
Kim Byung-su, CEO of Robotis, said, "Recently, due to COVID-19, demand for not only online shopping but also short-distance delivery has sharply increased, but delivery resources to handle this are severely lacking, causing inconvenience to consumers." He added, "The commercialization of unmanned delivery using robots is expected to satisfy both demands simultaneously while providing greater benefits to consumers."
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