Baedal Minjok "Robot Delivery to Apartment Front Door... Advancing Autonomous Driving Technology"

'Dilly Drive' Robot Delivery Service in Suwon Gwanggyo
Food Delivered via Elevator Using IoT Technology
"Expanding D2D Service... Continuous Technology Development and Quality Improvement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Baedal Minjok has newly launched a service that delivers food by robot from restaurants directly to the front door of each apartment unit.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, announced on the 15th that they have started a D2D (Door to Door) robot delivery service using the autonomous delivery robot Dilly Drive at the mixed-use apartment complex 'Gwanggyo Alleyway' in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Dilly Drive can freely move indoors and outdoors within the apartment complex and deliver food to the front door without human assistance.

This D2D robot delivery service is an upgraded version of the outdoor delivery robot service that has been operating at Gwanggyo Alleyway since August last year. Previously, Dilly Drive would pick up food from the restaurant and deliver it only to the first floor of the apartment, requiring customers to come down and collect their orders in person.

To introduce the D2D service, Woowa Brothers enhanced the autonomous driving technology so that Dilly Drive can freely navigate both indoors and outdoors. Each of the approximately 1,000 apartment units was assigned a QR code so that the delivery robot can recognize the location of each unit. After receiving an order, the robot identifies the unit’s location and building and unit number, then moves along a pre-entered route to complete the delivery.

The issues that had hindered the commercialization of robot delivery services, such as shared entrance doors and elevator integration, were resolved by applying Internet of Things (IoT) technology. When Dilly Drive enters the entrance of the customer's apartment building, it connects with HDC Labs' home IoT server to freely access the first-floor shared entrance. Once inside the apartment complex, it links with Hyundai Elevator’s elevator control system to call the elevator and move to the customer's unit.

The D2D robot delivery service completes the delivery process through eight steps: order reception → movement within the complex → passing through the shared entrance → boarding the elevator → arrival notification, after the customer scans the QR code placed inside their unit to complete the order.

Woowa Brothers plans to expand the robot delivery service, currently available only within the Gwanggyo Alleyway complex, to the nearby Gwanggyo Lake Park. Although current laws prohibit delivery robots from operating on roads, sidewalks, crosswalks, and parks, the Ministry of Science and ICT approved a regulatory sandbox demonstration exemption last September.

Kim Yo-seop, head of Woowa Brothers’ Robot Business Division, said, "Robot delivery services can be utilized for ultra-short-distance deliveries or deliveries to mixed-use complexes, which delivery workers tend to avoid, thereby creating new order demand for small business owners. We will continue to develop technology and improve service quality to expand the application of the D2D robot delivery service."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.