The pandemic has led to a surge in food and packaged delivery services that require minimal human contact. This has led to the rise in demand for autonomous delivery by robots in some parts of the world. Even after the vaccines have been rolled out and things in many countries are getting back to normal, the surge in demand for autonomous or driverless delivery robots is not going anywhere. The good news here is that a Bangladeshi is pioneering the idea and making autonomous delivery robots that has grabbed the attention of global tech communities.
Labib Tazwar Rahman, a 22-year-old Bangladeshi-- currently an undergraduate student studying computer science at Stanford University, California-- is one of the co-founders of Neubility, a company based in Seoul, South Korea, that produces autonomous food-delivery robots.
Neubility has managed to attract heavyweight investors as well as industry partners ranging from telecom to the automobile industry. They were recently presented as a top startup at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, which is the world's largest annual exhibition and conference for the mobile industry.
Back in 2015, Labib took part in the Conrad Challenge at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where he met Andrew Lee and Cheongho Lee. They finished in the top six of the competition.
"After the competition, we kept in touch and used to exchange ideas. We wanted to do something different, something innovative. We were always brainstorming about technical projects we could do together. These ideas culminated in Neubility," said Labib.
Because of a booming e-commerce market and shortage of human labour, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Korean businesses to keep up with the cost of last-mile delivery, and they are open to the idea of relying on automation i.e. autonomous delivery robots. Neubility hopes to tap into this emerging market in South Korea and beyond.
According to forecasts by Verified Market Research, the delivery robots market, which was valued at US$ 24.30 million, is expected to reach a value of US$ 236.59 million by 2027. Neubility's aim is to shine in this growing market. The startup is working on autonomous delivery robots that can deliver products from the producer to the consumer piercing through the densely populated cities or college campuses.
The word automation raises alarm bells for some and there is growing fear and anxiety among the mass that has anything to do with Al or automation. Labib thinks that the threat from automation is exaggerated.
"Automation is a gradual process. It will more than make up for the disruption it could cause in the job market by creating new and better opportunities. The goal of automation is to make our lives easier, not more difficult," Labib explained.
Apart from being a tech entrepreneur, Labib is also known for his work with people with disabilities and mental health. He is the founder of InclusionX, a mental health and disability inclusion service in Bangladesh. Its programmes and services have been used by over 30,000 people and its online content have been viewed by more than five million people.
Labib is also the author of Stanford Disability Language Guide. This contains comprehensive guidelines on how to talk about people with disabilities. Stanford Disability Language Guide has been featured in 'The Smithsonian Institution' and is currently used as an academic reference in many US universities.
Co-founding a visionary company at such a young age and not to mention, running an organisation like InclusionX alongside studies is no easy feat. What motivates Labib? How does he do it?
In his own words, "My life motto is-- 'fearlessly curious.' It continues to drive everything I do. I have found some general observations about myself-- system problems are meaningful to me, I am often excited about discomfort, and multi-causal problems don't intimidate me."
No wonder why Labib was able to kiss the success. Thinking about the self and consciously finding out where his strength lies have played a key role in bringing him where he is now. And now, his dream is to achieve something noble that will facilitate the greater good.
"By taking any small process, and by making it digital, transparent, and accessible for all, we can do something good for people. I want to help others as well as myself to live our lives in a way that if we die old, we can go to our deathbed knowing that the world is a happier and easier place because we were there."
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