DSTi, an IT service company, will join hands with VD Company, a company specializing in autonomous driving robots, to target the autonomous driving robot service market.
DSTi International (CEO Hyung-tae Kim) announced on the 31st that it had signed a strategic business alliance with VD Company (CEO Pan-shik Ham) to jointly expand the autonomous driving robot service market.
Based on 21 years of experience in the IT field, DSTi is developing a business centered on SI business solution construction and IT service, and currently has over 500 customers.
VD Company is leading the domestic autonomous driving service robot market. As of September this year, it has sold about 1,200 units, accounting for 90% of the serving robot market share and has become the leader of industry.
The two companies plan to expand the autonomous driving robot service market from the current restaurant industry to various industries such as public, medical, distribution and education. The VD Company will pioneer a new market with the newly launched self-driving quarantine robot 'Puductor' and the autonomous driving guidance robot 'KettyBot'.
'Puductor' prevents infection from bacteria through 10㎛ disinfectant particles and sterilizes 99.9% of pathogens by installing an ultraviolet (UV) lamp. It is possible to disinfect 12 to 15 rooms with a single charge, and robot control service is possible through IoT. 'KettyBot' has various functions such as display advertisement (18.5 inches), customer guidance, AI voice/face recognition, 3D obstacle recognition, and automatic charging. It can be operated even in narrow passages with a width of 55 cm.
DSTi is targeting untapped markets that VD Company has not entered based on the B2B (business-to-business) network it has accumulated over the years. VD Company is entering the B2B market and expanding its dominance in the market through diversifying autonomous robot models.
DSTi, through a technological alliance with VD Company, has applied technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and Artificial Intelligent of Things (AIoT) to self-driving robots to exhibit an 'autonomous driving robot system' such as a non-face-to-face quarantine integrated management solution. The company has recently launched a security system that recognizes the face while wearing a mask.
DSTi President Yong-tae Kim said, “We will focus on fields such as healthcare, retail (department stores, resorts, golf courses, franchises, etc.), public institutions, universities, etc, and occupy more than 70% of the autonomous driving robot market share within three years with IT-intensive product partnership between the two companies.”
Pan-shik Ham, CEO of VD Company, said, “Although we have been focusing on the restaurant market for the past three years, with the recent launch of the quarantine robot Puductor and the guide robot KettyBot, DSTi and VD Company will make a new entry into the B2B market such as medical institutions, which has been difficult to access. We will expand our autonomous robot service area and solidify our position in the market.”
By Staff Reporter Su-min Ahn (smahn@etnews.com)