SK Telecom works with Woowa to launch delivery robots powered by 5G edge cloud

 
SEOUL -- Self-driving delivery robots developed by Woowa Brothers, the operator of South Korea's top food delivery service app Baedal Minjok, will get smarter by using SK Telecom's 5G-based cloud technology. They will be able to find more accurate points and respond quickly in unexpected situations.

SK Telecom (SKT), a top mobile carrier in South Korea, signed a memorandum of understanding with Woowa, the developer of waiter robots for restaurants and self-driving food delivery vehicles, for technology and business collaboration to gain leadership in 5G edge cloud-based delivery robot services.

"The two companies will work together to commercialize 5G edge cloud-based robot delivery services by combining SK Telecom's operational knowhow in 5G edge cloud platforms and mobile networks and Woowa Brothers' strength in food delivery services," the mobile carrier said in a statement.

Woowa has teamed up with other companies to provide upgraded delivery robot services. Delivery robots powered by 5G edge cloud will offer services with enhanced quality and stability thanks to ultra-low latency communication, SKT said, adding they will be able to automatically and constantly replan paths based on real-time road situations, and respond immediately to unexpected situations.

The two companies would upgrade Woowa's LTE-based outdoor food delivery robot service launched in a residential-commercial complex in Suwon with SKT's 5G edge cloud. Since June, they have worked together to improve the operational efficiency of a robot management system by testing the ultra-low latency transmission of video taken by robots at Konkuk University in Seoul.

SKT said that 5G edge cloud-based robot delivery services can increase customer convenience and safety at a time when non-face-to-face contact services are high in demand due to a COVID-19 pandemic.