[Courtesy of KT]
The adoption of service robots has gained momentum in many South Korean restaurants to enable unmanned ordering. Restaurant owners with such robots do not need to worry about minor mistakes made by human employees. Operation costs can be significantly reduced as there is no need to pay workers. According to data released by the national statistics office, the number of serving robots is expected to exceed 10,000 in 2023.
KT said in a statement that the company partnered with T-Order which accounts for about 65 percent of the domestic tablet device market. In 2021, T-Order has achieved sales of 5.8 billion won ($4.7 million). The two companies will commercialize the solution starting in February. "Starting with the interlinked service, we will try to expand our partnership into other areas such as AI, big data and advertisement," KT AI robot business head Lee Sang-ho said in a statement on February 2.
KT is currently operating AI-based robot services at restaurants and hotels. KT's robots are capable of moving around a building using elevators. In 2019, the telecom company rolled out concierge robots at a hotel in Seoul to provide room services. In 2020, the company forged a partnership with a hotel franchise operated by Shinsegae, South Korea's retail giant, to offer robot butler services.
reporter
Kim Joo-heon
jhkim123@ajunews.com
