The future of our food delivery services could be in the hands of Holabot, an IoT-powered robot that can navigate the realms of an elevator by itself. Showcased at CES 2019, PuduTech, a company focused on the delivery robot industry, showed off its sleek, yet meek-looking Holabot.
This food-servicing bot is smaller than most measuring at approximately 50 by 40 by 70 cm. Lights highlight both sides of Holabot, and taillights pave the path when going forward and backwards.
Holabot also recognizes to whom it’s talking, with AI speech interaction and facial recognition. It can tell the direction of a human face with an RGBD camera, and will elevate its screen to the height at which the user can operate it. Users can also unlock the cabin with facial recognition, and automated trays inside the cabin will elevate themselves for users to grab their delivery food.
Because the Holabot is embedded with IoT technologies, it is capable of navigating floors and elevators independently. Based on the module of elevator control and the multi-floor navigation algorithm, Holabot can deliver directly to a person’s door despite being on the third floor. This meets a somewhat new demand of robotic delivery services by allowing multi-floor delivery capabilities.
The bot also comes with LiDAR, an RGBD camera, and ultrasonic sensors. With these capabilities, the bot can detect obstacles quickly, so it can avoid running into people or rummaging over a piece of garbage in the hallway. If it does detect an obstacle, the bot simply works out alternative routes and will select the most optimal route to ensure individuals get their food on time.
Holabot can pass through a two-foot wide aisle and avoid obstacles at a max speed of approximately 4.5 mph.
Delivery robots have become more prominent as technology proliferates everyday tasks, and perhaps soon, we’ll see Holabot navigating hotels and other locations delivering us pizza for a late-night snack.