Singapore Trials Goods Delivery Robot Service For Residential Areas

Robot Camello which was tested for a year. (Source: otsaw.com)

JAKARTA - The unfinished COVID-19 pandemic brings business opportunities related to online activities, social distancing restrictions, and interactions. For example, to meet daily needs, such as food or milk for example.

Departing from this condition, Singapore technology company OTSAW Digital presents a delivery robot service to meet your needs.

Launching Reuters, this delivery robot is named 'Camello'. There are two robots deployed to take part in a year-long service trial in the residential area of Punggol, Singapore. A total of 700 residential units were offered to try out this system.

Users can order delivery slots for their milk and eggs. And, an app notifies them when the robot will reach the pick-up point, usually in the lobby of an apartment building.

The robot is equipped with a 3D sensor, camera, and two compartments capable of each carrying up to 20 kg (44 lb) of food or packages ordered online.

On weekdays, the robots make four to five deliveries per day. While on weekends, these robots will serve calls only half a day and only on Saturdays.

One of the concerns amid the current COVID-19 pandemic is the risk of transmission through various media. To provide peace and comfort in their services, these robots are able to perform disinfection.

"They use ultraviolet light to disinfect themselves after every trip. Especially during this pandemic period, everyone looks at contactless, without humans," said OTSAW Digital Chief Executive Ling Ting Ming.

For now, the staff is accompanying the robots on their rounds to make sure no problems arise.

Tashfique Haider, a 25-year-old student who has tried the service, said it can be of great help to the elderly so that they don't have to carry things home.

But a passerby worries the technology might be too much of a hassle for some.

“Younger customers will like it. I don't think they (the older generation) will do it, because it's a gadget that younger people like, ”said Xue Ya Xin, a 36-year-old housewife.

Meanwhile, quoting from channelnewsasia, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that in a year-long trial that began in February, there were a number of indications to be assessed, including artificial intelligence technology for autonomous navigation, obstacle detection, and avoidance, communication systems, and networks of the path up to a business model for commercial viability.

The authority partners with the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Land Transport Authority (LTA), Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), local logistics service provider CM Logistics, to the NTUC FairPrice supermarket chain.