[Gettyimages Bank]
SEOUL -- South Korea's largest telecom company KT has partnered with a domestic unmanned food ordering service solution developer to accelerate the popularization of artificial intelligence-based service robots that autonomously carry food from the kitchen to customers' tables.
Various service robots were introduced in South Korea during the last few years. Many store owners find them very useful as they can maneuver around a small shop and safely deliver hot food. Service robots are also used in hotels and resorts to carry food. However, the speed of distribution is sluggish as many shop operators are not sure about the efficiency of service robots.
Currently, South Korea's most popular service robot solution provider is Baedal Minjok, the country's top food delivery service operator. There are some 630 service robots deployed to about 500 restaurants across South Korea. A serving robot has been operated an average of about six hours a day to carry out some two thousand serving runs per month since it was first deployed in 2019.
KT said that the company signed a cooperation agreement with Menutok, a domestic unmanned food ordering service solution developer, to jointly create a cooperation network model for AI service robots and an unmanned ordering platform and carry out joint promotions for AI serving robot-based businesses.
The two companies will provide AI service robots and unmanned ordering solutions to hotels, cafes and golf resorts. Customers can make orders using tablet PCs and a robot will deliver food and drinks. The whole dining process will be carried out via a non-contact process as the serving robot will pick up the tray and dishes when customers have finished eating.
"We are now able to create synergy and expand our business flexibility by integrating our tablet PC order service with KT's AI-based service robots," Menutok's CEO Kim Sung-hoon said in a statement on March 16. KT is currently operating AI-based robot services at restaurants and hotels in Seoul. KT's robots are capable of moving around a building using elevators.
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