Over 4,000 Disinfection Robots Set for Sell or Rent This Year, Here’s How It Works

South Korean telecommunications provider KT is expected to launch several new robotic units in the service industry. Among the businesses included in the project are hotels and restaurant companies that need assistance during the pandemic.

KT Debuts Robotic Disinfection Units

'AI Serving Robot' Launched To Help Reduce Human To Human Contact At Restaurants

(Photo: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 15: An KT employee picks up a meal from an artificial intelligence serving robot during a demonstration at a restaurant on September 15, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea. KT (Korea Telecom) launched a serving robot for restaurants that it says will lessen staff workload and reduce human-to-human contact in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. THE KT SAID IT IS called AI Serving Robot; it comes with 3D spatial mapping and self-driving technology that allows it to avoid obstacles and pass through tables freely and accurately. The robot can carry four trays and deliver them to four different tables in order with just one input. South Korea decided to relax business restrictions on eateries, fitness centers, franchise coffee chains, and other facilities in the wider Seoul area, as the country decided on Sunday to ease tougher anti-virus curbs in the region for the next two weeks. According to health authorities, the country decided not to extend the so-called Level 2.5 social distancing scheme, set to end at midnight, in the densely populated capital area, as the stricter curbs have been effective in slowing new virus cases.

The new robots from Korea, launching in the management and services industry, are constructed to help both employees and customers decrease the risk of coronavirus transmission inside business establishments.

The main goal of the KT robots is to minimize the infections across the particular field, in which many people are involved in transactions and services every day.

According to KT's announcement last Wednesday, the telecom company has plans to either sell or rent approximately 4,000 disinfection robots starting April until the final quarter of 2022. Alongside the hotel and management businesses, KT plans to partner with other organizations such as government institutions, hospitals, and welfare facilities.

The autonomous robots that KT will provide come in two various sizes. The function of the machines will focus on sterilizing airborne viruses and bacteria through the technology of air plasma, The Korea Herald reports.

Each of the robots will have a lamp that can emit ultraviolet-C light. These lights are commonly utilized in some places for disinfecting floors. The light works with an ultraviolet purification induced by its short wave properties.

Moreover, ultraviolet-C lights can also clean immediate aerial areas, purifying the small region from dust and toxic gas particles.

The KT robots were first introduced in Barcelona, Spain, during the Mobile World Congress 2022. The robots were produced in partnership with the prestigious Bear Robotics. Each unit was programmed with an artificial intelligence system that could connect to a 4G network and above.

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Future of Autonomous Robots in the Service Industry and Other Businesses

KT AI business head and senior vice president Lee Sang-ho explained at the conference that the company aims to form a bridge between the robotic technologies we have today and the industries that need such types of services.

KT also pursues to be among the robot platforms that cater to specialized robotics for consumers, Sang-ho added. Before the launch, KT service robots have already demonstrated their capacity in many industries. Some of the units took the role of baristas, hotel couriers, and restaurant servers.

KT's autonomous robots are not that new. Many companies, especially during the pandemic, have already released their versions of AI-powered machines in the service industry.

In the UK, a Chinese restaurant already utilized service robots in their establishments to keep human contact as safe as possible while keeping strict health protocols followed.

In the US, the hamburger-making robot Flippy already works with its tortilla-making successor Chippy in various food chains across the country.

Pompeii's archeological site is also protected by Boston Dynamics' robotic service guard dog named Spot for the safety of the place against illegal intruders and excavators.

AI-powered autonomous robots have been increasing to cater to their functions not just to the service industry, but also to other businesses. The human-like capabilities of these machines are also leaping quickly, from peeling a banana to having their conscious minds.