Highway service area fitted with futuristic technology to cater to drivers
A robot wok stir-fries vegetables in a kitchen at Ansan Service Area on the Yeongdong Highway in Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 16. Courtesy of Pulmuone
Pulmuone, a Korean company that produces plant-based foods, has upgraded a highway service area in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, by introducing smart technologies to help cook and serve food and beverages faster and using less human labor, according to the country's major food company, Friday.
Pulmuone Food and Culture, a Pulmuone subsidiary that specializes in food service, has unveiled a refurbished service area on Yeongdong Highway. Those driving between Incheon on the country's west coast and Gangneung on the east coast are bound to find access to it in both directions.
In the kitchen, the company has introduced two "robot woks." They automatically move themselves when stir-frying vegetables with cooking oil in a motion similar to how human chefs handle their woks. They can also pour cooking oil into themselves and control the gas' flame intensity when cooking. The devices operate based on data from a cooking algorithm.
Each robot can cook 25 servings in an hour, with eight different dishes in its repertoire, including malatang, fried rice and rice bowls. The robots spare human chefs from handling heavy woks repeatedly for long periods of time and the resulting quality is on par with their human counterparts' output, according to a company official.
An Ansan Service Area employee receives a package of gimbap sent down from the venue's second floor through a pneumatic tube system, Feb. 16. Courtesy of Pulmuone
For those ordering gimbap, the company set up a pneumatic tube system. Once an order is registered from the first floor, chefs on the second floor prepare it and send it down to a pick-up zone through the compressed air tube system.
The company has also set up an artificial intelligence-based robot barista. It works 24 hours, catering to customers regardless of the service area's limited business hours.
The company has also created a dedicated space for electric vehicle drivers. While recharging their cars, the drivers can take a breather inside a lounge reserved for their use and even get a refreshing rub from one of the installed massage chairs. From the comfort of the lounge, users can check their vehicle's charging status in real time by checking the displayed digital signage.
The company said that after the upgrades, the service area saw its sales jump by 59.5 percent from when it opened in 2022.
The company CEO Lee Dong-hoon defined the service area as a "futuristic rest area complex."
"We plan to introduce new digital technologies to other highway service areas in the country so that visitors can enjoy comfortable and joyous experiences," Lee said.