Chinese company Pudu Robotics’ latest smart service robot uses artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver personalised interactions with customers during their dining and retail experience.

The BellaBot Pro includes voice and greeting interaction, improved dish identification, an updated curve screen for advertising, and enhanced safety, and efficiency features.

Since its launch in 2019, BellaBot has been deployed in high-traffic environments by global brands such as Pizza Hut, Jollibee, Carrefour, KFC and Walmart. These companies use the robot to deliver orders, promote menu items and products, and welcome guests.

In the USA, the restaurant and retail industries are heavily investing in automation and AI to alleviate widespread labour shortages. By 2025, fast-food outlets expect 51% of tasks to be automated, while full-service restaurants predict 27%. In retail, 85% of businesses expect to adopt robotics on a significant level by 2025. Restaurateurs and retailers can both use the BellaBot Pro, which integrates Pudu’s proprietary VSlam+ mapping technology for improved navigation, along with AI for enhanced voice interactions.

“We are at an automation and robotics tipping point across the economy,” said Felix Zhang, CEO of Pudu Robotics. “Pudu Robotics aims to develop robots which improve the efficiency of human production and living, and our service robots are used throughout the world. BellaBot Pro’s AI and marketing capabilities represent a major step forward for Pudu and the robotics industry at large. We developed this latest version based on extensive customer feedback from our thousands of customers all over the world.”

The inclusion of a 47cm advertising screen on the robot’s body transforms it into a mobile promotion platform that captures customer attention and increases ad conversion efficiency. Its marketing prowess is amplified by customisable options such as dynamic facial expressions, multimedia advertising, various voice selections, and an adaptable skin appearance. These help businesses create personalised marketing promotions and campaigns, and offer an engaging and interactive experience for consumers.

The VSlam+ technology uses laser and vision fusion for simplified, sticker-free deployment, adaptable to various environments, including those with high ceilings up to 30 metres and large areas up to 200,000 square metres, reducing setup time by 75%.

The front camera will soon be able to detect specific customer gestures, such as waving, and determine the appropriate response.

Visual inspection through a fisheye camera monitors the tray status, allowing the robot to proceed autonomously to the next task once it detects a customer has completed their self-service meal collection. It streamlines the delivery-pickup-redelivery process, enhancing the overall dining experience.

It can recognise dishes on the tray and provide dish introductions through voice broadcast, creating customer interaction, elevating the dining experience and ensuring order accuracy. It’s a primary application of AI technology in BellaBot Pro, using a metric learning technique to capture accurately visual characteristics of dishes such as shape, colour and contour.

A light above the tray provides clear meal pickup signals, reducing errors, and improving the dining experience and operational efficiency for stores.

Omnidirectional obstacle avoidance uses two front view cameras, three RGBD cameras and one lidar to provide full front chassis coverage, reducing blind spots, and enabling the robot to recognise and respond to greetings for a more natural and engaging interaction.

Lights provide ground projection lighting for when the robot approaches intersections, alerting pedestrians to the robot’s approach, thereby enhancing blind spot safety and reducing accident risks.

Guangdong-based Pudu Robotics (www.pudurobotics.com) has shipped over 70,000 units to various markets, with a presence in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide.