Be it delivering food or helping us sanitise public spaces, Singaporeans are getting used to the idea of receiving help from robots thanks to the advent of technology.
On Wednesday (23 Jun), a Redditor spotted a Grab robot runner – formally known as Autonomous Handling and Batching Operating Intelligence (A.H.B.O.I) – at Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ).
A.H.B.O.I can ferry over 350 orders to delivery riders, reducing delivery time by about 15 minutes.
According to Grab, A.H.B.O.I can consolidate and collect over 350 orders across restaurants in shopping malls.
It will then bring these orders straight to delivery riders at a central collection point.
This speeds up the food delivery process by about 15 minutes as delivery riders no longer need to navigate through malls to pick up orders.
Through artificial intelligence (AI), A.H.B.O.I can also constantly learn from his surroundings and improve his performance.
A.H.B.O.I has been deployed to operate at PLQ’s basement 2 since 18 Jun as part of Grab’s month-long pilot project.
On Wednesday (23 Jun), a netizen shared a video of the robot making its way around the mall.
The robot runner’s front reads “EXCUSE ME” multiple times. We can also hear A.H.B.O.I repeatedly saying, “Hello there, Grab robot is approaching, please make way”.
Despite that, many still walked in front of it, prompting it to continuously pause along its journey.
Many Redditors found A.H.B.O.I amusing, especially when his screen reads “EXCUSE ME” multiple times.
However, this Redditor pointed out that they foresee trouble for A.H.B.O.I, as many might find it entertaining to intentionally block its way.
Another Redditor thinks a robot-only lane is necessary for A.H.B.O.I’s efficiency as they found AI-powered vehicles are usually too nice, constantly making way for others.
As technology advances, more services are gradually being handed over to robots to take care of.
Hopefully, after observing A.H.B.O.I’s first month at work in PLQ, Grab will be able to glean meaningful insights on improving the robot runner’s performance before rolling it out to other places.
Kudos to Grab for finding innovative ways to make the delivery process more convenient for riders and customers alike.
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Featured image adapted from Grab and Twitter.
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