South Korea expands adoption of unmanned technology in businesses to meet the changing patterns of consumers who increasingly favor shopping or enjoying services with minimized human interactions.
In this May 22, 2019, photo, customers wait for coffees in front of a robot named b;eat after placing an order at a cafe in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea expands adoption of unmanned technology in businesses to meet the changing patterns of consumers who increasingly favor shopping or enjoying services with minimized human interactions and to reduce burdens of high labor costs.
Less than a minute later, the robot sends a 4-digit code the customer can use to open a pick-up box. The robot can handle up to 14 drinks at a time. Drinks not retrieved within 10 minutes are thrown away, but another drink can be ordered at no extra charge. South Korean industries, including restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, banks and manufacturers, are relying increasingly on robots and other automation. But not without protest: many Koreans, especially the young, are struggling to find work.
South Korea’s minimum wage has jumped by 27.3 percent over the last two years, adding to the incentive to cut labor costs by using automation, says Suh Yong Gu, dean of the Business School at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul. South Korea has been an early and enthusiastic adopter of automation, with the highest density of industrial robots in the world in 2017, at 710 robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers, according to the International Federation of Robotics.
In 2017, South Korea’s 5.5 trillion won robot market was among the top five, along with China, Japan, the U.S. and Germany, which together accounted for over 70% of all robot sales.It’s a welcome trend for some younger people.
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