The Korean automaking giant will be testing a small fleet of last-mile delivery robots on its domestic market. The bots will automatically find their way into apartment buildings and to the apartment/hotel room doors. If successful, the technology will later be monetized.
For the time being, the scope of applicability is limited to just one hotel and one apartment building. The bots run around delivering food and small handy items, like towels. Residents can even request a delivery from a nearby store – as long as the items are small enough for the bot to carry.
Hyundai’s creation runs on a single low-end electric motor and uses a LiDAR in addition to a normal camera to scan its surroundings. A suspension system enables it to ride over small bumps. The development team says the robot is smart enough to determine if there is enough room in the elevator for it or not. It also scans the faces of the people meeting it and automatically unlocks the delivery box upon recognizing the customer who made the order.