If someone told you in 2011 that a self-driving robot would be delivering your food in 2021, you probably would have checked where the nearest police station is.
It sounds fantastical, but that’s exactly what one group of students here managed to create.
University Students Create A Cute Food Delivery Robot to Deliver Meals More Efficiently
Meet FoodBot, the cutest delivery robot/human you’ll ever see.
This little guy has already delivered more than 6,000 meals and carried about S$60,000 worth of goods.
And the best thing about him? He always has a smile on his face.
According to TODAY, the bot was launched in June 2020 to deliver food across the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) campus.
It’s the creation of Whizz Mobility, a start-up made up of seven students from NTU and one from the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
How It Works
So, how do customers get their food from this little guy?
They’ll first have to order through the app Cates, choose their collection points, and wait for their delivery there.
They’ll receive a notification when FoodBot is nearing the destination.
The FoodBots travel along pre-mapped routes at 5km/h and primarily stick to pavements.
But, unlike your hypebeast friend who just bought some new shoes, they can also travel across grass and mud.
Equipped with artificial intelligence, it can identify obstacles such as humans or poles, and will stop if they are in its way.
Whizz Mobility founder and CEO Mr Melvin Foo, 23, described the FoodBot as an “engineering dream”.
For safety reasons, they are remotely monitored by a human supervisor, who only intervenes when necessary.
This can happen if the robot is stuck on a slope or the layout of the route has changed.
You can see it in action here:
Five FoodBots are currently on the roads, deployed during lunch and dinner.
In December, FoodBot started making deliveries to CleanTech Park, which is adjacent to NTU.
No Delivery Fee
One aspect of FoodBot’s delivery services that will please customers is that since robots don’t have to be paid for their services (yet), there’s no delivery fee.
One NTU student who spoke to TODAY, said: “I use it very frequently, especially during my finals when I’m just cooped up in my room. It’s very convenient,” she added. “There isn’t much difference between receiving food from a robot or a person, frankly. It’s just knowing that it is more efficient and can serve so many people.”
Whizz Mobility hopes to open more delivery routes around NTU and cover other universities and business parks as well.
We hope to see more cute FoodBots coming to our doorsteps soon!
Feature Image: Youtube (NTUsg)
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