Delivery Robot Navigating the Heart of Gangnam, Seoul
Newbility's 'Newbi' Demonstration in Bangbae-dong Area
#On the 13th, on a sidewalk in Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. This area, located between Bangbae Station and Naebang Station, is adjacent to a food alley, so pedestrian traffic does not cease even on weekdays. Around 2 p.m., a robot began moving leisurely here. This robot, about the height of an adult’s knee, has a cargo compartment mounted on four wheels, with the words "Robot Delivery" inscribed on it. Flying a flag so it can be seen from afar and moving with a dignified posture, we followed this robot as it started its delivery. This site is where the autonomous driving robot startup Newbility is conducting a pilot for its robot delivery service.
The order was placed via an application (app) at 2:14 p.m. for coffee and other beverages from the Seven Eleven Bangbae branch. As the clerk placed the items into the delivery robot "Newbee," the delivery immediately began. Newbee’s cargo space measures 35 cm in width and length, and 38 cm in depth. It can easily carry a bundle of six 2-liter water bottles. This means most products sold at convenience stores can be delivered via Newbee. If cooling packs are included, beverages and other items can be kept cool throughout the delivery time without any issues.
The delivery destination was a nearby residence in front of Hyundai Greenville. It is about 400 meters away from the Seven Eleven Bangbae branch and requires entering a narrow alley where cars pass. Newbee, carrying the coffee, moved at a speed slightly faster than a person walking briskly. Moving at an average speed of 6 km/h, Newbility emphasized that the risk of collisions or safety accidents is low. In fact, Newbee stopped or avoided people approaching while moving on the sidewalk. It is designed to calculate the approaching speed and perform evasive maneuvers accordingly.
It also recognized and stopped for low-height objects such as dogs. To achieve this, Newbee is equipped with a camera that can recognize objects down to the ground level. Lee Sung-eun, team leader at Newbility, said, "All four wheels have motors attached," and added, "It also technically implements the ability to detect bicycles and other vehicles approaching from behind and calculate evasive actions within just a few seconds."
As Newbee entered the alley, its movements became busier because both people and cars pass through. When encountering a large vehicle, the delivery robot smoothly moved aside to one side of the road. Newbee arrived at Hyundai Greenville at 2:27 p.m., taking 13 minutes for the delivery. Newbility plans to target deliveries within such short distances. Newbee’s operational range is within 1.5 km. This alleviates concerns that delivery robots might take away jobs from riders. Riders tend to avoid such short distances because they are not profitable. It feels a bit far to walk to buy something, but it is too close to order delivery via riders, so Newbee can actively serve these short-distance deliveries.
Although equipped with cutting-edge technology, the robot is also cost-competitive. Newbility lowered the price by choosing a cost-effective camera-based autonomous driving solution instead of expensive LiDAR. Both software and hardware were developed in-house. Once commercialized, the service is expected to be offered at a price lower than current delivery fees.
Before the ongoing pilot for outdoor urban deliveries, Newbee can first be encountered at golf courses. In April, Newbility, in partnership with Samsung Welstory, deployed six Newbee units at Ananti Jungang Golf Club and is expanding robot delivery services mainly at major domestic golf courses while preparing for commercialization within the year. Commercialization will begin this year focusing on private properties such as golf courses, with plans to ship 200 robots by the end of the year. The goal is to distribute more than 1,000 units next year and over 5,000 units by 2025.
Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, said, "We will focus on advancing services to innovate the last-mile delivery market and do our best to provide reliable autonomous driving delivery pilot services."
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