Chinese restaurant hires robot waiters to save money
Updated | By Poelano Malema
From hoteliers to baristas to receptionists and robot car drivers, robots are really taking over.
A Chinese restaurant owner has reportedly hired robots to replace human waiters, and the move is reportedly pulling in the crowds.
The five robot waiters at Diners at the Taste and Aroma restaurant in Eastern China deliver food directly to tables and can even greet diners. They use magnetic strips on the floor to travel and use optical sensing systems to run back and forth to the kitchen to collect food.
Lu, the restaurant owner, told reporters they also cost less to hire than human staff.
"As time goes by, our lives will become more and more high tech. Catering has to have a breakthrough," he said during an interview with ODN.
"I want customers to know that robots can enter into the catering industry," he added.
The robots have a battery life of about eight hours and a five year life span.
They reportedly cost about R91,988.85 each.
Another cool thing about the waiter robots is that they can dance for customers.
This is not the first time a Chinese restaurant has used android waiters.
Two restaurants reportedly fired all its robot waiters as they were unable to carry out certain duties.
"The robots can attract plenty of customers, but they definitely can't reduce the need for human labour," said one boss to tenplay.com
"Not only could robots not carry food with too much soup, they also frequently break down," added another boss.
See a video of robot waiters in action below:
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