Smart robots deliver in elevators

“Smart robots will ride up and down elevators, deliver packages, or provide room service..”

AI autonomous robotics startup Bear Robotics (CEO Ha Jung-woo) announced on the 19th (local time) that it will make a strategic investment in MTM Tech (CEO Kim Jin-ki), a company specializing in convergence technology (AloT). "We highly appreciated the elevator control technology based on international standards that MTM Tech has accumulated, as well as the security and safety of the interlocking steps," said Bear Robotics, explaining the background of the strategic investment decision.

"We have been targeting the global market with serving robots for the restaurant industry, and with this investment, we are expanding our business to autonomous service robots for indoor delivery," said Jungwoo Ha, CEO of Bear Robotics. "MTM Tech's convergence platform has advantages such as strong security, interoperability, and connectivity, which will play an essential role in expanding our last-mile mobility solutions."

Through this investment, the two companies plan to develop various service robots.

This is especially true for elevator robots. For a robot to go up and down an elevator, it needs to call the elevator and get in. And when it reaches the desired floor, it needs to get off. To do this, the robot and the elevator need to communicate with each other. The problem is that elevators on the market today come in all different makes and models. "MTM Tech is a company specializing in AloT-based smart elevator platforms," explains BearBotics. "We have developed and operated the connected elevator platform 'ELSA' and have international standard technologies for safe interconnection of various elevator makes, models, and types." Since 2021, Bear Robotics and MTM Tech have been developing ELSA Mobility (ELSA.M), an interconnection platform for indoor delivery robots. The platform provides interoperability based on international standards so that robots can use elevators, automatic doors, speedgates (access control gates), etc. It not only solves the complex connection problems of various manufacturers and models in the field where robots are operated, but also has a high level of defense against security problems such as personal information leakage and hacking.

"Servi Lift, an indoor delivery robot, is equipped with Elsa Mobility, which enables artificial intelligence-based autonomous driving not only horizontally within a building but also between floors," said Bear Robotics. "This enables last-mile delivery using robots even in high-rise buildings such as hotels, hospitals, and offices." Bear Robotics plans to pilot 100 service lifts in 2023, followed by mass production for the global market from 2024.

"With the global IoT elevator market forecast to grow to $64 billion by 2030, this investment is an opportunity for us to become the world's leading provider of robotic delivery solutions," said Juan Higueros, COO and co-founder of Bear Robotics.

Meanwhile, Bear Robotics was founded in 2017 by CEO Ha Jung-woo, a former Google engineer, and three other co-founders to develop AI autonomous robots based in Silicon Valley. Currently, it is introducing products that the market needs, such as not only serving robots but also quarantine robots and delivery robots that move between floors.

Maeil Economy
Reporter Lee Sang-deok
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