QuikBot Technologies: Revolutionizing Urban Logistics with Robotics and AI

• Alan Ng founded QuikBot Technologies to tackle challenges in urban logistics using robotics, AI, and IoT, creating a groundbreaking Autonomous Final-Mile Delivery Platform-as-a-Service.

• QuikBot’s electric-powered robots and optimized delivery routes aim to reduce carbon emissions and improve efficiency in the last-mile delivery process, contributing to a greener logistics sector.

• Alan believes that as e-commerce continues to grow, we can overcome the challenges in logistics—such as higher delivery costs, traffic congestion, and environmental impact—by embracing smart solutions like autonomous delivery systems.

Every groundbreaking innovation starts with a simple idea—one that challenges the status quo and reimagines the future. For Alan Ng, Founder and CEO of QuikBot Technologies, this idea took shape in the rapidly evolving world of urban logistics. With the rise of e-commerce and the increasing demands on final-mile delivery, the traditional methods were proving unsustainable. But instead of just recognizing the problem, Alan saw an opportunity to revolutionize the field.

Drawing from years of experience in technology and marketing, Alan embarked on a mission to bring together robotics, AI, and IoT in ways that had never been done before. What started as a vision soon became QuikBot Technologies, a company at the forefront of autonomous delivery solutions. And with it, Alan not only disrupted the logistics sector but also laid the groundwork for smarter cities and more sustainable delivery practices.

As you read ahead, you’ll discover how Alan’s leadership has driven QuikBot’s innovation, shaped its partnerships, and set the stage for global expansion. But it all started with identifying a gap in a rapidly evolving industry—and turning it into an opportunity that others had overlooked.

Business APAC: Given the challenges in urban logistics, what inspired you to found QuikBot Technologies and develop a robotic solution?

Alan: We saw a significant gap in the final-mile delivery space. With the boom in e-commerce and growing urban congestion, traditional methods were struggling to keep up. This inefficiency led to higher costs, traffic congestion, and increased carbon emissions.

Inspired by the potential of robotics and AI, our team, including Dr. Wong Choon Yue and Dr. Diao Ren, envisioned a more sustainable and efficient solution. We developed our Autonomous Final-Mile Delivery Platform-as-a-Service (AFMD) to integrate seamlessly with urban infrastructure and address these logistical challenges.

Business APAC: Can you break down your ‘Autonomous Final-mile Delivery Platform-as-a-Service (AFMD)’ into simpler terms? What components, processes, or data points are typically involved in it?

Alan: Our Autonomous Final-Mile Delivery Platform-as-a-Service (AFMD) consists of several key components:

• Autonomous Robots: These are the core of the platform. They are smart, self-driving machines that can deliver packages without human assistance. They navigate city streets and buildings, outdoor to indoor and floor to floor, using AI to find the best routes.

• AI and Machine Learning: The platform uses AI to optimize routes in real-time, ensuring that deliveries are as fast and efficient as possible. It can adjust for human traffic or building layouts, helping the robots reach their destinations quickly.

• Smart Lockers (QuikBox): Our robots provide customized smart lockers that can hold 4 or 6 packages for multiple recipients. This reduces the need for multiple trips before returning to base and makes the process more efficient.

• Cloud Platform: All the robots and data are managed through a central cloud platform. This allows logistics companies to track deliveries, monitor the robots, and manage operations from anywhere.

• Security Systems: The platform includes built-in security measures. Robots are equipped with security clearances to access buildings, pass through turnstiles, and operate elevators safely and securely.

Moreover, Our platform integrates IoT smart building infrastructure, a diverse fleet of autonomous robots, and AI, all supported by RMF (Robotic Middleware Framework). It ensures seamless navigation through urban environments while enabling real-time decision-making.

The platform also offers the flexibility to integrate with other systems, such as software APIs, for enhanced connectivity and operational efficiency. This combination allows QuikBot to deliver an innovative, scalable solution for autonomous final-mile deliveries.

Business APAC: As a leader in autonomous final-mile delivery solutions, could you describe your core areas of expertise and the industries you primarily target with your services?

Alan: QuikBot Technologies specializes in three core areas:

1. Robotics and AI Integration: We develop and deploy autonomous robots equipped with advanced AI to navigate complex urban environments, ensuring efficient and secure deliveries. As an agnostic solution, our platform seamlessly supports all courier companies, including DHL, FedEx, and UPS, enabling them to optimize their last-mile logistics.

2. Smart Building Solutions: Our platform integrates with IoT-enabled building infrastructure, enabling seamless interaction between robots and systems like elevators and security checkpoints. If robots are RMF-ready, they can interoperate with our platform, unlike single-purpose robots (e.g., cleaning or security robots), which cannot often work with other types or brands of robots. This interoperability sets us apart in creating a truly integrated smart building ecosystem.

3. Sustainable Logistics: Our electric-powered robots and AI-optimized routes significantly reduce carbon emissions in the last-mile delivery process.

Our services primarily target industries that benefit from streamlined urban delivery systems, including:

• E-commerce: We offer fast delivery solutions for online retailers.
• Logistics and Supply Chain: We help companies optimize their delivery processes within urban settings.
• Real Estate: We provide smart building integrations to enhance internal deliveries from point to point, such as hospitals, retail malls, schools, etc.

Business APAC: What sets QuikBot apart from other delivery service providers in the market? How does your integration of robotics and IoT technology offer a unique value proposition to your clients?

Alan: What sets QuikBot apart is our cutting-edge platform. Unlike other delivery robots that make only one delivery per trip, our unique solution separates the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) from a smart locker with 4 or 6-compartment cabinets. This innovative design eliminates the need to invest in multiple robots by allowing multiple deliveries.

Our value proposition includes:

• End-to-End Automation: From pick-up to delivery, our AI-driven robots handle the entire process without human intervention, improving speed and reducing errors.
• Seamless Integration with Smart Buildings: Our robots interact with IoT-enabled building infrastructures, including lifts and turnstiles, ensuring smooth, floor-to-floor deliveries in different smart buildings across multiple locations.
• Customized Solutions: We offer flexible integrations with RMF and API connectivity, tailoring our platform to specific business needs.
• Sustainability: Our electric robots reduce carbon emissions, contributing to a greener logistics sector.
• Energy Savings: Lift usage is generally one of the top three electricity consumers in office buildings, following air-conditioning. Since our robots do not need to stop at the reception lobby to change passes for each floor, they can minimize the number of trips required for deliveries. This optimizes lift usage, resulting in significant energy and cost savings.

Business APAC: How do you tailor your solutions to meet the unique challenges of different environments, such as office buildings, residential apartments, and logistics depots?

Alan: We adapt our solutions based on the environment:

• Office Buildings: In busy office complexes, our robots seamlessly integrate with IoT systems to navigate turnstiles, and elevators, and make floor-to-floor deliveries. This helps streamline high-volume, time-sensitive deliveries in fast-paced corporate environments.

• Internal Deliveries: For large estates like retail malls, exhibition halls, hospitals, and hotels, we consider existing human portal workflows and integrate auto-doors for our robots to navigate through. Many of these services already have on-demand delivery applications, and our platform can easily integrate with these systems, enabling quick rollouts. Manpower has always been an issue for portal service providers, and with our AMFR, we can augment human operations by addressing these staffing challenges efficiently.

• Logistics Depots: In logistics depots, we prioritize optimizing bulk handling and transferring goods to their final destinations. Our AI-driven system ensures route optimization, supporting fast, large-scale, and secure deliveries across urban clusters.

By customizing our platform to each environment, we provide efficient, secure, and scalable final-mile delivery solutions that meet each client’s unique requirements.

Business APAC: What are your core responsibilities as the leader of QuikBot Technologies?

Alan: At QuikBot, my role focuses on several key areas. I define the company’s strategic vision, ensuring our autonomous final-mile delivery solutions align with market demands and capitalize on new technologies.

I also lead business development efforts, forging partnerships with logistics firms, e-commerce platforms, and smart city developers to expand our footprint. In product development, I oversee the integration of advanced AI, IoT, and smart infrastructure into our platform.

Another critical aspect of my role is leading a cross-functional team to achieve our strategic goals while maintaining strong client relationships to ensure our solutions meet their specific needs.

Business APAC: Can you share some of your recent achievements?

Alan: Recently, we’ve achieved some significant milestones. We completed successful pilots at South Beach Tower and Suntec City, working with logistics leaders like FedEx, SingPost, and DHL to automate last-mile deliveries.

We’ve also established new partnerships with e-commerce platforms and smart city developers, enabling us to integrate our autonomous robots into future urban infrastructure.

Our innovative solutions have been recognized within the industry, earning us contracts that validate our technological impact. Internationally, we’re preparing to expand into Japan, Korea, and the Middle East, driven by the increasing global demand for our delivery solutions.

Additionally, we were honored to receive the Go! Innovation Award from AutomationSG, further solidifying our position as a leader in urban logistics automation.

These accomplishments reflect both our cutting-edge approach and the trust that the private and public sectors have placed in us.

Business APAC: Can you tell us more about the key team members behind QuikBot Technologies and their contributions to the company’s success?

Alan: At QuikBot Technologies, we are fortunate to have a team of brilliant minds driving our innovation forward. Two key figures behind our technological advancements are Dr. Wong Choon Yue, our Co-Founder and Chief Engineer, and Dr. Diao Ren, our Co-Founder and Head of R&D.

Dr. Wong Choon Yue is a renowned robotics expert with nearly 18 years of research and development experience. He holds a Ph.D. focused on human-robot interaction, particularly how humans can effectively supervise groups of mobile robots. His post-doctoral work furthered the development of robotics, especially humanoid robots and robotic grippers.

One of his notable achievements is the creation of Singapore’s first humanoid robot, Edgar, in 2015-2016, which positioned him as a leader in the robotics space. Dr. Wong also serves as a lecturer at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where he specializes in Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) technologies. His blend of academic insight and hands-on expertise plays a crucial role in QuikBot’s mission to revolutionize urban delivery solutions. At QuikBot, he leads the integration of robot-assisted last-mile delivery in smart buildings, pushing the boundaries of next-generation automation.

Dr. Diao Ren, our Head of R&D, brings over 10 years of expertise in robotics and software development. He holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge and dual Master’s degrees from both Cambridge and the University of Birmingham. Dr. Diao earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Aberystwyth University, where he specialized in commercial and industrial robotics. He has an impressive track record of innovation, having developed the world’s first large-scale service robot group scheduling system that operates in both indoor and outdoor environments. 

He also pioneered Modular Composite Robots and Highly Flexible Integration Platforms, which have pushed industrial automation to new heights. Before joining QuikBot, Dr. Diao held senior roles in companies like Wandera, Moying Robotics, and Anda Automation, where he contributed to cutting-edge advancements in mobile collaborative robots and AI systems.

Both Dr. Wong and Dr. Diao are instrumental in driving QuikBot’s technological innovations, combining their academic achievements and practical experience to position our company at the forefront of the robotics and automation industries. Their expertise ensures that QuikBot continues to deliver pioneering solutions in autonomous last-mile delivery.

Business APAC: How do you measure the return on investment (ROI) for clients who use your autonomous delivery platform?

Alan: At QuikBot Technologies, we use several key performance indicators (KPIs) to help clients clearly see the value and efficiency of our autonomous delivery platform.

First, we track cost efficiency by monitoring how much clients save on delivery expenses like labor, fuel, traffic tolls, elevator electrical usage, and vehicle maintenance. Automating deliveries with our platform helps significantly reduce operational costs. 

We also measure delivery speed and coverage. With AI-optimized routes, our platform accelerates deliveries and increases the number of deliveries completed per hour, both within and between buildings.

Another important KPI is carbon emissions reduction. Our electric-powered robots reduce the carbon footprint of deliveries, helping clients meet their sustainability goals and lower their environmental impact.

To ensure operational uptime, we monitor the system’s uptime and the robots’ ability to operate continuously with minimal downtime, maximizing delivery capacity and efficiency. Our robots can operate 24/7 with minimal human intervention, ensuring uninterrupted service and higher productivity.

We also focus on error rates and security by measuring the reduction in delivery errors, such as misdeliveries or lost packages. Our real-time tracking systems, combined with cameras and sensors, provide secure and accurate deliveries.

Client and customer satisfaction is essential. We track important metrics such as customer ratings, retention, and repeat business, which are crucial indicators of our platform’s success.

Lastly, we evaluate scalability—how easily our platform can expand across various environments, from corporate to residential to logistics. This scalability helps clients grow their operations efficiently.

These KPIs help our clients understand the financial, operational, and environmental benefits of our autonomous delivery solutions, making it easier to quantify ROI.

Business APAC: What are the future goals for QuikBot Technologies, and how do you envision your role in the evolving landscape of autonomous delivery?

Alan: Our future goals at QuikBot Technologies revolve around expanding our services, entering new markets, and driving innovation in autonomous delivery technology. We are particularly excited about global expansion plans that will take us beyond Singapore. 

Upcoming deployments in Japan, Korea, Dubai, and the Middle East represent significant opportunities for autonomous final-mile delivery in densely populated urban areas.

While our current focus is on logistics, e-commerce, and smart cities, we are eager to explore new sectors such as healthcare, retail, and hospitality. Autonomous delivery solutions can greatly enhance efficiency in hospitals, hotels, and shopping centers by providing faster and more secure deliveries.

In terms of technological advancements, we are committed to investing in research and development to improve our robots’ capabilities. This includes enhancing AI-driven navigation, real-time decision-making, and integration with smart city infrastructure. We also aim to optimize our Robotic Middleware Framework (RMF) for seamless connectivity with third-party platforms.

Sustainability is another key priority for us. We are focused on developing even more sustainable solutions that reduce carbon emissions and minimize our environmental footprint. Our electric-powered robots will continue to support clients’ green initiatives, reinforcing our commitment to environmental stewardship.

Ultimately, our vision is to position QuikBot as a leader in autonomous delivery worldwide, revolutionizing urban logistics through cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability.

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