The Futuristic Way Incheon Airport Travelers Are Getting Coffee Delivered
If you are flying to South Korea, you'll most likely be arriving at Incheon International Airport, which is located about 30 miles west of Seoul. The "Land of Morning Calm" welcomes many visitors every year — 967,000 in 2021, according to data from Statista — and many of them first arrive at this airport.
The tourism industry is booming in South Korea thanks largely to the growing popularity of Korean pop culture around the world, referred to as "hallyu" or the Korean wave, such as K-Pop boyband BTS, Korean movies, TV shows, and even beauty products, per Statista. Even Korean food, such as kimchi, gochujang, and bibimbap is showing up more on store shelves and on restaurant menus outside of South Korea, helping to fuel interest in Korean culture, per Korean Explorer. South Korea has also a country of technological innovations with it being the home country of Samsung, LG, and Hyundai. When you combine this growing interest in Korean culture with the country's tech industry, it's no wonder that the country's main airport would be the site of new technology.
Airport robots will deliver food and coffee
When you are at the airport trying to catch a connecting flight, time is of the essence. Now, at Incheon International Airport, a robot is ready to help deliver food to hungry and thirsty travelers, according to The Korea Herald. Called Air-dilly, the robot services Terminal 1 and brings food and beverages from Baskin-Robbins, Paris Baguette, and Dunkin' to people from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The robot was launched July 18 by an app called Baemin and was made by another Korean company, LG Electronics, per Korea Herald. Air-dilly is already at use in Korean hospitals and offices, (via Next Shark). There are six robots delivering food and beverage to people 820 feet from the participating businesses, of which the number should increase in the future if plans go accordingly. Next Shark says businesses are not being charged a fee for the Baemin robot to take their products to the consumer. Air-dilly is able to carry up 37.48 pounds of products, so that's a lot of ice cream, doughnuts, and coffees for tired and hungry travelers.