Baemin 'Dilly Tower' Runs at Incheon International Airport Terminal

Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement Sign Agreement on Robot Delivery Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Baedal Minjok (Baemin)'s indoor delivery robot 'Dilly Tower' will start delivery services next year at Incheon International Airport, the gateway to South Korea.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin (CEO Kim Beom-jun), announced on the 24th that it has signed an agreement for robot delivery services with Incheon International Airport Corporation and the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Following residential apartments and large office buildings, Baemin will now introduce robot delivery at the airport.

This agreement was made after the consortium of Woowa Brothers and the airport corporation was selected for the project under the '2021 Demand-tailored Service Robot Development and Distribution Project' led by the Robot Industry Advancement Institute. Based on the agreement, the Robot Industry Advancement Institute and the consortium plan to pilot the robot delivery service and then expand it throughout the airport.

Woowa Brothers plans to first launch the robot delivery service at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport in the second half of next year. To this end, they will build infrastructure such as a dedicated robot delivery store page for Incheon Airport. They will also improve the Dilly Tower's storage space to suit the airport environment.

The robot delivery works by airport users ordering food and beverages from restaurants or cafes in the terminal's duty-free zone via QR code, and the Dilly Tower delivers the items to the customer's location. Once the service is realized, users will find it more convenient to use food and beverage outlets within the terminal, and the stores are expected to benefit from increased sales.

Customers can use the delivery service from food and beverage stores within the duty-free zone regardless of the boarding gate location in the passenger terminal. This eliminates the hassle of moving across the large terminal and significantly saves time. Stores within the passenger terminal will be able to offer delivery services inside the airport for the first time, creating new revenue. The inconvenience of being unable to use the service due to distant gates or boarding times will disappear.

The airport corporation expects that the contactless robot delivery service, suitable for the post-COVID-19 era, will provide safety and convenience to users and strengthen the image of a 'smart airport.' Kim Yo-seop, Woowa Brothers Head of Robot Business Division, said, "We are introducing robot delivery services at Incheon Airport, which serves as the gateway to South Korea. With the rapid increase in demand for contactless services, we will provide advanced robot delivery services to users using Woowa Brothers' leading delivery robot technology and service operation know-how."