The "Haola" delivery robot connected by LoRa® realizes intelligent and humanized service

The "Haola" delivery robot connected by LoRa® achieves intelligent and humanized service upgrade

The "Haola" robot launched by Purdue Technology is a delivery robot with a call notification function. It uses LoRa® technology to achieve remote calling, which can redefine item delivery and recycling and improve business efficiency.

With the rapid development of Internet of Things technology and cyber-physical systems (CPS), robots have been widely used in many industries. In addition to industrial robots used in electronics, automobiles, chemicals and other industries, people are increasingly seeing service robots used in homes, hotels, restaurants and other scenarios in their daily lives. In recent years, global service robots have made great progress and development in technology, and have achieved a series of breakthrough applications in the fields of home, education, public services, and medical care, laying the foundation for creating a better life and improving production efficiency.

Due to the ever-accelerating pace of life and work today, coupled with factors such as an aging population and rising labor costs, various service industries are choosing to use robots to free people from monotonous and trivial labor and improve labor productivity.

According to the McKinsey Global Institute, by 2025, the global application of robots will have an economic impact of 1.7 to 4.5 trillion US dollars per year, of which service robots will have an economic impact of 1.1 to 3.3 trillion US dollars per year, accounting for about 70%.

As a networked device, intelligent service robots require IoT technology with longer coverage distance, more flexible and convenient network structure and higher reliability due to factors such as large site area, concrete obstructions and complex driving paths in many catering, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and retail stores.

Semtech’s LoRa® technology has been widely adopted in actual robotics applications due to its proven wide coverage, high reliability, and flexibility, becoming an IoT technology that drives the development of the service robotics industry.

Shenzhen Pudu Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Pudu Technology") is an industry-leading supplier of intelligent delivery robots and low-speed unmanned driving solutions. Since its establishment, it has always adhered to the "inventor spirit" and launched a variety of robots for different scenarios to improve business efficiency for users. The "Haola" robot is a delivery robot launched by Pudu Technology that focuses on call notification functions. The robot is cleverly combined with LoRa technology, which greatly improves its use efficiency.

The design features of the "Haola" delivery robot are as follows:

★ Super large capacity, high carrying capacity

With a carrying capacity of up to 60Kg and an ultra-large volume of 120L, it has 4 layers of carrying space. In catering applications, it can return plates to multiple tables at a time and quickly turn over tables. In medical applications, it can complete the contactless transfer of medical waste from the point of generation to the designated storage room, thereby improving the efficiency of medical waste treatment and reducing the infection rate.

★ LoRa remote watch call

"Haola" supports remote smart watch calling mode, which can summon the robot in real time and issue task instructions, so that it can be available at any time.

★ Remote operation

No need to touch buttons, efficient and contactless.

★ IPX5 waterproof interior

The IPX5-level waterproof inner cabin can effectively resist splashes of various liquids in the working environment and keep the machine clean.

When defining and designing the "Haola" delivery robot, Purdue Technology observed that in complex scenarios such as restaurants and hospitals, there is a high flow of people and many obstacles such as walls. In order to ensure communication stability and ensure that the robot can respond in a timely manner, Purdue Technology adopted LoRa communication technology in the remote calling watch.

LoRa has the characteristics of low power consumption, wide coverage, and strong signal penetration. When service personnel call the robot through the LoRa smart watch, the robot can be available on call, perfectly helping the "Haola" robot to improve work efficiency.

Figure: Remote calling watch based on LoRa

The "Hao La" robot has been widely used in the catering industry and other industries, greatly improving work efficiency. A restaurant in Shenzhen compared the number of dishes returned by a single "Hao La" robot with the number of dishes returned by each person. It can be seen that the robot can return dishes more efficiently and effectively supplement human labor. In addition, the robot's return of dishes also avoids the breakage of dishes while moving. It can perform multiple tasks at a time and directly carry dishes to the dishwashing area. The "Hao La" robot also has an IPX5 waterproof inner cabin, which is not afraid of splashing. Cleaning staff do not have to take off their water-stained gloves, and can directly collect dishes. Then, they can use gestures to directly let the robot return to the standby point and wait for the next call.

Figure: Comparison of average number of returns per person and number of returns per robot

In addition to the "Haola" robot, robots such as "Happy Delivery", "Bella" and "Happy Extinguishment" launched by Purdue Technology for other scenarios have also been widely used.

As a leading supplier of intelligent delivery robots, Pudu Technology has taken on social responsibility during the pandemic, providing hundreds of "Happy Delivery" robots to multiple hospitals and quarantine sites. These robots are mainly used for delivery at quarantine sites in hospitals and hotels. They can carry 3-4 layers of pallets (475×400mm), with a carrying capacity 2.5 times that of manual labor, and can complete an average of 300-400 deliveries per day. At the same time, they can support the simultaneous dispatch of multiple robots, and can efficiently deliver meals, medicines, drinking water or other items requested by patients.

Medical staff can put the items they need on the "Happy Delivery" without touching the patients, and let the "Happy Delivery" automatically go to the door of the ward. When the patients or quarantined people hear the voice prompt of the "Happy Delivery", they open the door to receive the items. It takes less than half a minute and no contact operation is required. After completion, the robot will automatically return to the station and continue to deliver after disinfection.

Zhang Tao, CEO of Shenzhen Pudu Technology Co., Ltd., said: "The 'Okay' robot is a delivery robot launched by Pudu Technology with a call notification function. We have cooperated with Semtech to apply LoRa technology to the remote intelligent control of robots. With the help of LoRa's wide coverage, strong signal penetration, and high stability, the 'Okay' robot can be called at any time, helping users improve business efficiency. " As delivery robots are applied and popularized in industries such as catering, and innovative information-physical system technologies and industrial chains become increasingly mature, more industries closely related to human life and production activities will introduce delivery robots, and evolve a variety of commercial service robots according to different scenarios.

Huang Xudong, Vice President of Sales for Semtech China, said: “Semtech is pleased to see Pudu Technology launch the ‘Haola’ delivery robot, combining LoRa technology with service robot applications to improve efficiency for catering, medical and other industries.

As a mature IoT technology, LoRa has been applied to intelligent products and solutions in many industries, providing them with reliable and stable connections. We also look forward to seeing our customers further expand their R&D scope and product lines, and put innovative service robot products into more application scenarios."