Don’t worry, this little robot is way too cute to bring back memories of HAL 9000-infused nightmares to folks that grew up reading Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series. Instead, it could open a window into the future of seamless, AI-powered, bespoke customer services at Hyundai showrooms across the world.
Remember last month when people started making jokes about dogs and Hyundai as the South Korean conglomerate took over the ownership of American robotics company Boston Dynamics from SoftBank? Well, given that “DAL-e” has four legs and partially humanoid looks, we’re going to refrain from submitting our own humorous take on the matter...
Still, a bit of subtle irony might be in order when discussing the chosen title. Hyundai explained that its new and highly advanced customer service robot has been named based on the acronym for “Drive you, Assist you, Link with you-experience.” That’s a mouthful, to say the least.
Basically, no one will remember what DAL-e stands for unless Hyundai succeeds making this cutesy robot a permanent fixture of its global dealerships going forward. For now, it’s just a pilot project involving a single showroom at the company's home in Seoul, South Korea.
The main idea behind this project is that Hyundai is looking to bring us into the future of automated customer services – something that bodes extremely well at a time when social distancing has become the norm rather than the exception.
“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,” said Dong Jin Hyun, Vice President and Head of the Robotics Lab at Hyundai Motor Group.
In short, we’re dealing with a free-moving robot that’s capable of language processing, facial recognition, and great mobility thanks to integrated artificial intelligence technology.
At 1,160 by 600 by 600 mm (45.66 by 23.62 by 23.62 in), it’s also said to be significantly more compact and lighter (80 kg/176 lbs) than other customer service/guide robots already available on the market.
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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