Watt Autonomous Delivery Robot Field Test at Large Japanese Condo

Future-type delivery services are becoming a reality in large-scale condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area of Japan. Autonomous delivery robot startup WATT has partnered with Japan's largest delivery company Yamato Transport to fully embark on a large-scale demonstration experiment, and is receiving significant attention from major Japanese media outlets such as Asahi, Nikkei, and Fuji TV. This demonstration experiment, which began on August 22nd, is being conducted in cooperation with Nomura Real Estate at representative large condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area, such as Proud Shin-Urayasu Palm Court (550 units, 14 floors) and Proud Tower Meguro Mark (301 units, 32 floors). In this experiment, which will continue until December, the robot's overall performance and efficiency, obstacle avoidance capability, user convenience, and operational costs will be verified from various angles. The autonomous delivery robot introduced by WATT boasts innovative technology. Through AI-based control technology, it autonomously performs tasks such as card tagging at condominium entrance doors and even operating elevator buttons. A significant advantage is that it can be easily installed without modifying existing building infrastructure. By applying 'swerve drive technology', it can move omnidirectionally even in narrow elevators or hallways, designed to move flexibly in any environment. On-site, the floor-to-floor autonomous driving robot 'James' and the smart delivery locker 'W-Station' operate in organic conjunction. Residents are expected to experience greatly enhanced convenience as they can receive deliveries at their desired time and in their preferred manner. This is expected to significantly contribute to reducing the customer service burden on logistics companies and increasing overall delivery efficiency. This demonstration experiment presents new possibilities for future logistics systems. Yamato Transport aims for practical implementation by 2026 and plans to continuously expand installation areas, further revealing its strong commitment to building a robot delivery ecosystem by stating its intention to handle even the volumes of other delivery service providers. Choi Jae-won, CEO of WATT, stated his ambition, "We will optimize our products based on abundant operational data from Japanese condominiums, and develop them into global products that can be expanded to various building environments worldwide." This collaboration is attracting attention as a significant turning point that will go beyond a simple technological experiment to change the logistics landscape of future cities.