Robo-Waiter eChinaCities

The strangely named Dalu Rebot Restaurant, in the northeastern Chinese city of Jinan, is a 100-seat hotpot restaurant with a very peculiar staffing choice: It features two robot receptionists and six robot waiters who wheel around drinks and food on large indoor pedal-driven carts.

The restaurant, which opened earlier this week, has a circular seating design with a track placed around the perimeter of the seating area. Even though the robot waiters have a built-in security system so they don't run over people standing in front of them, the track seems like a smart way to avoid marauding cycle-bots crashing into steaming-hot hotpots while trying to deliver drinks. Hotpot, too, is probably a smart move, since there's not a whole lot for a waiter to do besides bring drinks and accoutrements.

The Shandong Dalu Science and Technology Company is behind the robotic waiter initiative, ultimately hoping to have a staff of 40 robots. At the moment, the restaurant retains several token "organic" staff, who, you know, cook the food and stuff, but since the robotic angle is getting lots of attention, why not play it up?

[OddityCentral via Engadget]

9 Comments

Yeah but can they crack good jokes and wiggle an ass well?

Why not add the touchscreen tables for ordering?

I hope this type of catering deosn't come to America.

This is a huoguo (hotpot) restaurant - everything is cooked by the diners themselves at the table in a big pot (not sure why the article mentions staff cooking the food). There's no robotics here, just a trolley that delivers the uncooked food to each table.

Id feel like I was in a giant vending machine , its just a big robotic feeding machine that you pack humans into for feeding, brought to you by the same people that put live seafood in vending machines for eating live fish and crab while your on the run .

Would I still need to leave a tip for a robo-waiter? :P

China has all the awesome restaurants with awesome robots. America should have one.

www.unmannedwarfare.webs.com

Strangely, why don't they substitute their coal miners with robots? Do you know the real death rate or casualty rate under their coal mine?
I think it is better to substitute their 'City Superviser' with robot, which has more humanitarian effects. See the MTV our marines made for their 'Chengguan'

Actually, I'd like to see (a few) robot dining establishments around here. Robots (unless programmed or directed to) would not show any favoritism (or discrimination) towards customers. We could all find out which group we're in by comparing the service we get at a robotic diner as opposed to one ran solely by people!


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