Baemin, Countdown to Deployment of Delivery Robots on Site

Delivery Robot Dilly Obtains Outdoor Mobile Robot Operation Safety Certification

Baedal Minjok (Baemin)'s self-developed delivery robot 'Dilly' has taken a step closer to practical deployment. Baemin aims to launch a robot delivery service using Dilly in the Seoul metropolitan area in the near future.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin, announced on the 9th that their self-developed delivery robot Dilly obtained the Outdoor Mobile Robot Operation Safety Certification, hosted by the Korea Robot Industry Promotion Agency, on the 26th of last month.

The Outdoor Mobile Robot Operation Safety Certification is a mandatory certification required to operate delivery robots in areas classified as sidewalks under the Road Traffic Act, according to the Intelligent Robot Development and Distribution Promotion Act passed last year. The certification can be obtained from an operation safety certification body designated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Robots that acquire this certification are granted pedestrian-equivalent status, allowing them to travel on sidewalks and crosswalks.

Delivery Robot Dilly

The certification body evaluates 16 items including operation speed, stability, security, and control devices for outdoor mobile robots with a maximum speed of 15 km/h or less and a mass of 500 kg or less. Dilly passed all 16 items and became the sixth robot in Korea to receive this certification.

The robot Dilly, developed by Woowa Brothers, is designed specifically for delivery. It is equipped with six independent suspensions, enabling stable movement even on rough surfaces. The front and rear wheels can move independently, maintaining stability at high speeds and allowing easy direction changes in narrow spaces. It can carry items weighing up to 30 kg, and its cargo compartment volume is 25.6 liters, capable of holding six 2-liter water bottles at once. Since it uses a battery replacement system, it can be quickly redeployed into service even if the battery runs out during operation.

With this certification, Woowa Brothers plans to deploy the delivery robot in practical use soon. Until now, the robot has been operated only at a demonstration level within sandbox zones where regulations were temporarily relaxed, but they plan to provide robot delivery services to an unspecified number of customers in a wider area. They will introduce a low-cost delivery service linked with Dilly and the Baedal Minjok app in Seoul and some parts of the metropolitan area. Once delivery robots are fully introduced, it is expected that they will supplement the shortage of delivery workers during high demand and perform deliveries that delivery workers tend to avoid.

Hwang Hyun-gyu, head of the Robot Business Planning Team at Woowa Brothers, said, “By obtaining the Outdoor Mobile Robot Operation Safety Certification, robots can freely travel on pedestrian paths and side streets, greatly expanding the delivery area,” and added, “We will accelerate technology development so that more consumers can use the robot delivery service linked with the Baedal Minjok app.”