China Restaurant Relies On Robot Cooks And Servers

Our previous coverage of a robot working in the food and beverage industry proved to be less than flattering, as the robot mentioned there is meant to replace humans when it comes to flipping burgers. Here is yet another example of robots potentially taking over some of the more labor intensive jobs that humans work at right now, thanks to a restaurant in China that will rely on over a dozen robots to cook as well as deliver the orders.

Imagine a robot greeting you, and as you make your order, robots will send your orders right to your table the moment the dish is cooked. Not only that, this restaurant that has been set up in Kunshan, China, and opened just last week, will also have some robots stir-fry meat and vegetables.

Why robots instead of humans? Other than to draw a crowd due to the novelty factor, the restaurant’s founder, Song Yugang, shared, “My daughter asked me to invent a robot because she doesn’t like doing housework.” What better way to profit from your idea than to make sure it works perfectly while adding an attraction factor to the establishment, right? A pair of robots will act as greeters, while a quartet of them will deliver food to the designated tables.

Another two large blue robots that sport glowing red eyes will work in the kitchen, frying whatever orders that need to go through that preparation process, while yet another robot will revel in its role of making dumplings. Each of these robots cost around $6,500, which is roughly the equivalent of an annual salary of the corresponding human employee. At least they don’t fall sick and do not need to take annual leave, not to mention being subjected to mood swings. A 2-hour charge results in up to five hours of work.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: China