Robots take on delivery work at select apartments, hotel in Gyeonggi

A robot delivers a towel requested via room service to a guest staying at Rolling Hills Hotel [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Woowa Brothers and Hyundai Motor started a pilot service that allows robots to make deliveries to residents in an apartment and hotel in Gyeonggi.

The companies announced Tuesday that residents at Gwanggyo Alleyway, an apartment in Suwon, Gyeonggi, will be able to receive restaurant deliveries by robots.

When ordering food from restaurants located in a shopping center connected to the apartment using Woowa Brother’s Baedal Minjok application, Hyundai Motor’s robots will deliver the food to the residents’ doorstep.

The robots will not need any human assistance.

The robots use Hyundai Motor’s plug and drive modular platform, which has camera sensors and autonomous driving capabilities such as steering and braking. Wireless connections will be used to open the apartment entrance, which normally needs to be unlocked by a keypad, and to call elevators. Using the camera sensor, the robot will determine if it needs to wait for the next elevator if it is too crowded.

Robots at Rolling Hills Hotel, located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, will deliver food and room items as requested via room service.

Room service requests can be made by sending a message to the hotel’s official KakaoTalk channel. Orders are only available between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

The pilot program follows the memorandum of understanding signed by Hyundai Motor and Woowa Brothers in March. The two companies announced they would jointly develop a robot that will be able to carry out restaurant deliveries at apartments and company buildings.

After the initial test run, the two companies plan to increase the number of robots and station them at more locations.

“Delivery robots using our plug and drive modular platform allow for quick deliveries and improved safety through the use of autonomous driving technology, including fast obstacle avoidance capabilities,” said Hyun Dong-jin, head of the Robotics LAB of Hyundai Motor. “We plan to keep upgrading mobility services, convenience, safety and affordability for customers through our pilot programs.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]