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TRENDS

2022 November 28, 29

Level: Medium

Robots That Serve

by Billy Haselton

Restaurants are finding that robots make great waiters and waitresses

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Robots used to be found only in science fiction. In the 1960s, the animated space-age family the Jetsons had a robotic maid who could do household chores. In the 2014 movie Big Hero 6, the robot Baymax could diagnose and heal illnesses instantly. In real life robots function in many manufacturing and household situations. (Think workers in the automobile industry, robot toy pets and vacuum cleaners.) In the field of medicine, robot patients help train doctors and nurses by pretending they have a variety of health conditions. Now robots are finding a home in the food service industry.

  The global pandemic and resulting economic crisis have created a lack of restaurant workers. Since restaurants don’t have enough workers, the remaining staff must work harder. Regardless, customers face longer wait times, fewer menu choices and higher prices. Some entrepreneurs are lending a hand – a robotic hand – in the form of server robots. These robots are not exactly modeled after Rosey, the Jetsons’ robotic household servant, but they are pretty clever (and very cute).