Would you eat food cooked by a robot? You might have to soon
SoftBank Robotics America has announced a collaboration with Gausium to create robotic assistants for commercial use. The new robots, the Delivery X1 (X1) and the Scrubber 50 Pro (S50), can complete tasks for – and collaborate with – staff to support companies struggling with hiring slowdowns and skills gaps.
The restaurant industry is experiencing a labor shortage, as many restaurants find it hard to fill job openings. To help employees focus on customers and "higher-value responsibilities", X1 and S50 are meant to take on menial and repetitive tasks, according to a press release.
X1 is a food-service robot designed to run food and drinks to customers when employees cannot. It's equipped with collision-free and spill-proof technology. X1 can also help employees bus tables and take dirty dishes to the kitchen for cleaning.
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S50 Pro's primary duties are to assist with cleaning operations, as it comes with scrubbing, sweeping, dust mopping, and sanitizing capabilities. The robot can clean and disinfect floors at the same time, and it knows when to notify humans when a mess needs extra cleaning.
Also: Boston Dynamics: We won't weaponize our robots and neither should our customers
In recent years, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, many major food chains have integrated an app or an online-ordering option into their processes to help employees keep up with high orders. But customers are becoming annoyed by online ordering, which is affecting consumer satisfaction.
To make up for labor shortages yet no decline in hungry customers, universities, restaurants, and food delivery services are introducing autonomous robots to cook and serve food. But it doesn't stop at robots bringing you a refill of your Vanilla Coke. Restaurants are employing robotic cooking utensils and fry cooks, too.
Miso Robotics, a company specializing in creating robots for food service, is capitalizing on many restaurants' need for extra hands – or robot arms – in the kitchen. Miso is responsible for an array of robotic kitchen helpers, such as Flippy 2, a robotic arm with AI-powered vision to fry and transfer food accurately.
It's an excellent time for robotic restaurant staff, as they cut down the restaurant industry's most considerable expense: salaries. Robots also help increase efficiency, but it's concerning to workers how their bionic coworkers will affect their pay.
So, it's safe to say a robot will soon be serving you the food you ordered. The future is here, and you won't be surprised to hear that flying cars are next.