Robot offers showroom assistance

Hyundai has created a special robot to help advise potential car buyers at its showrooms in a contact-free environment.

The company’s “DAL-e” is an advanced customer service robot that independently communicates with people using recognition capabilities and mobility functions. Its name is an acronym for “Drive you, Assist you, Link with you-experience”.

Designed to pioneer the future of automated customer services, the DAL-e is equipped with artificial intelligence technology for facial recognition as well as an automatic communication system based on a language-comprehension platform.

Dong Jin Hyun, head of the Robotics Lab at Hyundai, says: “The DAL-e is a next-generation service platform that can offer automated customer services anytime. 

“It is expected to become a messenger capable of delivering consistent messages to customers in a more intimate and personal way than conventional robots.

“With continuous updates and improvements, the DAL-e will provide fresh, pleasant experiences to our valued customers in a contact-free environment.”

A pilot scheme with the robot has begun at a Hyundai showroom in southern Seoul, with plans for it to eventually be rolled out at other locations and used in fields that require everyday interactions with customers.

The robot is about 1.1 metres high, weighs 80kg and has four omnidirectional wheels to help it move around a showroom. 

If a customer enters the business without wearing a mask, the android can recognise this and advises the person to wear one. Hyundai plans to update the DAL-e based on data from its pilot operations.