Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs has announced the pilot launch of food delivery robots in Kaohsiung Software Technology Park.

Expected to start on March 1, the trial is set to run for just under a year, and marks the first robot service of its kind in the country. 

The Cubot One robot was developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) under funding from the Ministry. The autonomous robot can reportedly navigate both indoors and outside, with a sensor array and 3D positioning technology that allows it to avoid obstacles and even use elevators. 

Credit: Ministry of Economic Affairs

The robot “delivery man,” has three major features: accurate receipt, safe delivery and cross-building delivery allowing it to receive and carry out delivery orders. According to ITRI, the Cubot One differs from other waiter-like robots in that it can travel independently to deliver food to office workers. 

In the trial, Cubot is set to be deployed at the park’s 7-Eleven store, taking deliveries to workers in the surrounding office buildings. 

The trial responds to rising demand for logistics and delivery services, in addition to ongoing labor shortages which, combined, have prolonged delivery times and increased the cost of delivery labor. 

“It is expected that this project will be a perfect trial for unmanned smart logistics, and there will be opportunities to expand to different areas in the future,” said Zhang Nengkai, a member of the Technology Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in a statement. “For services such as smart stores, smart hotels and smart restaurants, it will bring more new smart living experiences to the public.”