Food delivery robots to roam Seoul streets
Woowa Brothers and Sisters, with help from Korea University, designed food delivery robot "Dilly." / Yonhap
By Ko Dong-hwan
Does a small, self-driving vehicle on Seoul's streets delivering food sound unrealistic?
The idea, in fact, will likely become reality in South Korea in two years, after a food delivery company introduced a prototype on Thursday.
Woowa Brothers and Sisters, which operates the nation's popular food delivery app “Baedal Minjok,” came up with “Dilly.” The company said it is a compound of “delivery” and “delicious.”
Dilly is 67 centimeters wide, 77 centimeters long and 83 centimeters high. It has three slots to store dishes and runs at four kilometers per hour. It is equipped with location-tracking and obstacle sensors to avoid collisions while delivering.
Dilly, once introduced in practice, will likely replace the traditional delivery service by a person. / Korea Times file
Woowa jointly developed Dilly with a Korea University professor's research team.
It will first test Dilly at a food court. There it will deliver dishes on a serving tray and then retrieve the tray. The company will broaden tests to outdoor venues like post-secondary institutes and apartment villages.
The eventual goal is to have Dilly deliver from restaurants to homes.
Dilly's role is highly anticipated in delivering anything from fast foods like hamburgers, pizzas and chickens, to pricey dishes like steaks and sushi.