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| Woowa Brothers CEO Kim Bong-jin, left, and Professor Dennis Hong at UCLA / Courtesy of Woowa Brothers |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Baedal Minjok, Korea's leading mobile app for food delivery services, will join hands with UCLA's robotics research team to develop cooking robots, the company said Monday.
Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baedal Minjok, said it has agreed with Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) of UCLA to jointly develop robots that can cook at restaurants and homes.
RoMeLa, which is led by Professor Dennis Hong of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is widely known as the mecca for robotics research focusing on the development of humanoid robots and autonomous vehicles.
Under the project name "Yori," Woowa Brothers will develop cooking robots that can perform various tasks, from placing orders and preparing meals, to bring an innovation to the dining culture.
"We are excited to partner with RoMeLa, a recognized leader in robotics research," a Woowa Brothers official said.
"We share a vision of delivering innovative solutions to our customers. By working together, we hope to provide practical robotic services to the food-tech industry."
Professor Dennis Hong, who will be leading the project, said "This project will play a starring role in the evolution of the human diet."
This is the company's latest attempt to expand its business beyond food delivery.
Since 2017, Woowa Brothers has invested heavily in developing autonomous robots for restaurants and self-driving food delivery vehicles.
In December last year, Woowa partnered with Hyundai Movex, an automated logistics system provider, to develop autonomous delivery robots capable of moving between floors.
On July 23, it opened a robot-serving restaurant called "Merry Go Kitchen" in Seoul. It allows customers to order food using the Baedal Minjok smart order system on its app, and robots deliver ordered dishes.
The company's ultimate goal is to lead the future food-tech industry and develop robots capable of delivering food from restaurants to customers.
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