- Redesigned DAL-e Delivery robot is intended for offices and malls.
- Larger cargo area can carry 16 coffees or 22-lb loads.
- Autonomous tech allows it to take elevators and avoid obstacles.
Hyundai and Kia have given one of their models a mid-life facelift that brings new styling, improved practicality and face-recognition tech. But it’s not a car, though it does have wheels: it’s an indoor delivery robot.
The latest DAL-e Delivery robot is an update of a model introduced in December 2022, which had its roots in an early non-delivery robot designed to assist with communications when face-to-face interactions were difficult during the pandemic. It’s intended for use in offices, shopping malls and restaurants where it can shuttle packages or drinks around in its internal cargo space.
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The ’24 DAL-e’s cargo capacity is bigger than ever, and can carry up to 16 cups of coffee and handle loads weighing up to 22 lbs (10kg). The goods are secured behind a door that’s unlocked using facial recognition software to verify that the person trying to take delivery is the intended recipient. Once the door is open, a tray extends outwards to allow loading and unloading.
Hyundai says that despite the bigger internal capacity, the new robot, which looks kind of like a Doctor Who dalek minus the bumps, is smaller on the outside. The new exterior design is claimed to make DAL-e more stable at its staggering 2.7 mph (4.3 kmh) top speed, while ‘enhanced’ suspension means it (and your coffee) won’t be upset by bumps.
Autonomous tech lets it recognize and avoid obstacles in congested areas, and DAL-e can even work on smart office buildings with multiple floors by taking elevators, just like a human would. But unlike real humans, this one won’t get sidetracked on its way to deliver a package to someone on the third floor when it runs into Dave from accounts on the way and gets full chapter and verse on his new Ioniq 5 N.
Though many people working in factories and distribution centers are already used to seeing robots wandering around their workplaces, for the rest of us this is new territory and might feel a little Orwellian. But to put our minds at ease, DAL-e can show animated facial expressions on its 11.6-inch display as well as more practical info about its service status.
