A recent episode of the X-Files<\/i> showed Agents Mulder and Scully dining in a restaurant where there wasn\u2019t a single person in sight. Rather, everything was automated\u2014the ordering, the food prep, the delivery system\u2014offering some playful commentary on the technological world we live in today.<\/p>\r\n![\"Bionic](\"https:\/\/upserve.com\/media\/sites\/2\/Featured-image_Makr-Shakr-1100x600.jpg\" "\\"Robots")
Robots are starting to play an important role in restaurants<\/h2>\r\n
But while the story was meant to be a bit of an exaggeration, the idea that robots and automation could soon be taking over the food service industry is not completely outlandish. In fact, robots are already starting to play an important role, and the public is excited by the possibilities.<\/p>\r\n
Between decreasing prices for robotics equipment, the increasing minimum wage<\/a>, and difficulties restaurants face in finding cooks and other employees in many cities in the country, restaurants can expect to see more food service robots among their staff in the coming years.<\/p>\r\n California-based Miso Robotics<\/a> introduced Flippy to the restaurant industry earlier this year. The robotic kitchen system acts as a fry cook, identifying patties on a grill, tracking them as they cook, flipping them, and even placing them on a bun.<\/p>\r\n Restaurant-goers were so intrigued by the prospect of having their burger flipped by a robot, that when it was piloted in a CaliBurger restaurant in Pasadena, Flippy was so overwhelmed with orders, he had to be taken out of the kitchen.<\/p>\r\n Perhaps he could\u2019ve used some reinforcements.<\/p>\r\n At Zume Pizza<\/a>, a food delivery startup in California\u2019s Bay Area, Doughbot is one of several robots on the assembly line, pressing dough up to five times faster than some of the most veteran pizza<\/a> spinners.<\/p>\r\n \u201cOur robots are delicate, yet strong, and extremely flexible to handle hundreds of pizzas per day,\u201d says Alex Garden, CEO and co-founder of Zume Pizza and Zume Inc. \u201cBeyond that, they are dynamic and react to each individual order\u2014versus just doing the same motion over and over again. This is something that\u2019s never before been done in the food industry.\u201d<\/p>\r\n First, the pizza-making process starts with fresh ingredient preparation, as the Zume team chops and prepares everything from chiffonade basil to pineapple slices every morning. Once all the prep is done, the kitchen crew uses the first robot on the line, the Doughbot, to press each naturally leavened dough ball into perfectly round, 14-inch pie shells. Then Bruno, a six-axis robot, puts each crust in the oven to partially bake.<\/p>\r\n In the afternoon, these crusts go back on the line, where robots Pepe and Giorgio dispense the right amount of sauce onto each pie, followed by Marta, who spins the sauce around the shell. From there, several employees top the pie with fresh ingredients, and it heads into refrigeration before going out for delivery. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n Makr Shakr<\/a>\u00a0is a robotic bar system that allows its users to create limitless cocktail recipes that are assembled and served by robotic arms.<\/p>\r\n Alessandra Savio, the startup\u2019s marketing and communications manager, notes Makr Shakr aims to turn everyone into a bartender, not to eliminate the need for humans<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n \u201cBy a process of co-creation, people are able to combine their decisions regarding cocktails with the power of modern technology,\u201d she says. \u201cI think that we should all be happy that, today, many tasks can be successfully carried out by robots, allowing people to focus on more creative tasks.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Today Makr Shakr is on board five Royal Caribbean cruise ships, and inside both the Miracle<\/p>\r\n Mile Shops in Las Vegas and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino of Biloxi, Mississippi.<\/p>\r\n \u201cSince October 2014, Makr Shakr\u2019s robotic arms have delivered more than 1 million perfectly crafted drinks, with peaks of 800 cocktails produced per night,\u201d Savio says. \u201cAs Makr Shakr continues to evolve, a new version of the robotic bartender will be unveiled in mid-2018.\u201d<\/p>\r\n In 2017, prompted by a desire to simply food preparation, Dr. Deepak Sekar created the prototype for Sally the Salad Robot, an automated salad delivery system. With a touch of a few buttons on a screen, the machine drops neat portions of refrigerated ingredients into a bowl.<\/p>\r\n \u201cI love cooking, but have always felt that food preparation is tedious,\u201d says Sekar, founder and CEO of Chowbotics, a startup based in Redwood City, California. \u201cI 3-D-printed the first prototype of Sally to eliminate these repetitive tasks, allowing humans to be more productive. Salads were a perfect starting point because of their simplicity, as well as the ease of customization.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Over the last year, Chowbotics has sold four Sally robots for use by a top food service provider at several of its Bay Area clients\u2019 offices. Sally is also in the midst of a trial period in the lobby of a highly-trafficked Silicon Valley hotel.<\/p>\r\n \u201cI think that we should all be happy that, today, many tasks can be successfully carried out by robots, allowing people to focus on more creative tasks.\u201d -Alessandra Savio<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n \u201cSally\u2019s key differentiator is that it is customizable,\u201d Sekar says. \u201cSally can quickly create salads with any combination of ingredients, and users can fine tune the calorie total by adding or subtracting ingredients. This technology is also applicable to other meal periods, such as breakfast, as well as cuisines, such as Chinese, Mexican and Indian. Respective robots will follow in the future.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Like a vending machine, Sally doesn\u2019t require staffing; it can whip up salads around the clock, making it ideal for employers who want to provide options for when the cafeteria is closed, hotel operators who want to give guests an array of a healthy choices beyond the minibar, and convenience store operators wanting to provide a quick, fresh meal for commuters on the go.<\/p>\r\n \u201cSalads can be sold directly from Sally in the front of house of existing restaurants, without the need for a separate transaction at the cash register,\u201d Sekar says. \u201cAlso, Sally is ideal for food courts, malls and airports, as it offers a fresh, customized alternative to boxed salads and provides a healthy option when other outlets are closed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Sally\u2019s proprietary technology also reduces the risk of foodborne illness<\/a>, as ingredients are kept sanitary and separate. Each of Sally\u2019s 22 ingredients is replenished on a regular basis and contained within the robot, reducing the potential for contamination.\u201cFood service robots need to tackle challenges with cleanliness, since bacteria can often get stuck in sharp corners of the equipment,\u201d Sekar says, noting that Sally recently received its food safety certification for passing the National Sanitation Foundation standard. \u201cBuilding robots that can be easily maintained by food service workers is compulsory.\u201d<\/p>\r\n The automation has paid off.<\/p>\r\n \u201cIntroducing automation has allowed us to offer a $17 minimum wage for all our kitchen employees, full health benefits for all full-time employees, and retraining opportunities that prepare them for higher-skilled jobs like data science and people management,\u201d Garden says. \u201cWe invest in our people and work hard to ensure all our employees feel prepared for their future of work, that will increasingly be dominated by technology and automation.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A recent episode of the X-Files showed Agents Mulder and Scully dining in a restaurant where there wasn\u2019t a single person in sight. Rather, everything was automated\u2014the ordering, the food prep, the delivery system\u2014offering some playful commentary on the technological world we live in today. Robots are starting to play an important role in restaurants Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":259,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[548,547,549,30,546],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1422,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152\/revisions\/1422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.nahtnow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Robots are Flipping Hamburger Patties at Miso Robotics<\/h4>\r\n
![\"Flippy\"](\"https:\/\/upserve.com\/media\/sites\/2\/Flippy-500x281.jpg\")
\r\nRobots are Making Pizza at Zume Pizza<\/h4>\r\n
![\"Bruno\"](\"https:\/\/upserve.com\/media\/sites\/2\/Bruno-500x334.jpg\")
\r\nRobots are Making Cocktails at Makr Shakr<\/h4>\r\n
![\"Makr](\"https:\/\/upserve.com\/media\/sites\/2\/Makr-Shakr-500x333.jpg\")
\r\nRobots are Making Salads at Chowbotics<\/h4>\r\n
\r\n
![\"Sally](\"https:\/\/upserve.com\/media\/sites\/2\/Sally-the-Salad-Robot-500x333.jpg\")
\r\nBenefits of robots in restaurants (for humans)<\/h2>\r\n