LG Electronics announced on Friday that it formed a collaboration with the Korea Institute for Robot Industry and Advancement (KIRIA) and Woowa Brother’s Corp., an online food delivery platform operator, to create and improve robots for the food service industry.
Last November, Woowa began commercializing serving robots in South Korea.
According to Yoon Hyun-jun, Woowa’s new business executive vice president, the company created robots for restaurants and self-driven food delivery vehicles. Currently, Woowa operates 85 serving robots stationed in 68 restaurants throughout the country. Yoon added that since their operation, the robots are receiving positive feedback from customers.
In February, LG and Woowa agreed to collaborate in the area of delivery and serving robot business.
The latest partnership expands on their collaboration, further enhancing their respective expertise.
LG would take charge of developing its artificial intelligence technology for both the software and hardware parts for the robots. At the same time, Woowa would furnish the technological knowledge they have acquired in managing their robot rental business.
Moon Jeon-il, KIRIA’s President, stated that collaboration between LG and Woowa would step-up the workplace condition of employees in restaurants. The serving robots would ease the workers’ duties through contactless service, especially during the post Covid period.
Pioneering in Service Robots
LG pioneered several service robots such as CLOi, a service robot that runs on AI and offers navigational services and controls connected appliances. The food service robot can bring food and carry back dishes to the kitchen with its self-driving technology.
The company also developed robots for a wide variety of purposes, such as offering assistance in cleaning, lawn mowing, in airports, and robotic exoskeletons for the human body.
Roh Jin-seo, LG’S head for its robot business, stated that the company increased its competitiveness in the industry through its specialized robots used in the service industry.
LG Electronics concentrated on reinforcing its robotics business by securing bot developing and production firms. The company launched a robotics lab in Boston, U.S., last January 2020.
