Burung, Robot Delivery Service Pilot Project Begins

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport 2022 Smart City Innovation Technology Discovery Project Selection
Mesh Korea, Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, Incheon Technopark, Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation Joint Project
Robot Delivery Service from First Floor of Large Buildings to Tenant Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Mesh Korea, the operator of 'Boorung,' announced on the 5th that it has started a pilot project for the 'Boorung Robot Delivery' service, where autonomous delivery robots navigate inside buildings to deliver food and goods to tenant companies.

This service is being promoted as part of the 'Living Lab Pilot Project for Urban Delivery (Last Delivery) Using Autonomous Driving Robots,' jointly conducted by Mesh Korea, Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, Incheon Technopark, and Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation. It was selected by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport as an innovative technology discovery project, and plans to conduct last-mile delivery demonstrations using autonomous driving robots at a total of four locations, involving over 150 citizens.

The first service area to launch is the Incheon Startup Park, located in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, covering an area of 26,697㎡. Boorung Robot Delivery is a service where Boorung riders (two-wheeled delivery drivers) assigned by AI-based recommended dispatch deliver food and goods ordered by tenant companies to the building entrance drop zone, and autonomous delivery robots then deliver them to each tenant company inside the building. Despite Incheon Startup Park being a space where about 500 employees from over 80 companies work regularly, there are no nearby commercial facilities inside or around the building, making it difficult to purchase food and goods. In particular, the building operates an access restriction system for security, making delivery challenging.

Mesh Korea expects to solve delivery difficulties such as poor accessibility for delivery drivers and conflicts with residents in large park-style apartment complexes, high-rise buildings, and large buildings through the robot delivery service. Choi Byung-jun, head of Mesh Korea's domestic business division, said, "This robot delivery service is part of the last-mile logistics innovation business that Mesh Korea has led for the past 10 years," adding, "We plan to expand the service area starting from Incheon Startup Park in Songdo, Incheon, to large apartment complexes and high-rise buildings."