Tech Update: Robot Restaurants are Here!

Some people think of movies like Total Recall and Judge Dredd when the idea of robot restaurants comes to mind. Even movies like Back to the Future 2 gave their best shot at predicting what they look like. In reality, they aren't as shocking as you think they would be.

For example, Eatsa is a San Francisco-based restaurant company that gives its customers a unique experience of ordering their meals with iPads and dispensing them with automated machines. Expanding on their tradition of offering their customers a high-tech experience, they just announced Friday that they'll be integrating their technology to the fast-casual restaurant chain Wow Bao next month.

At Chicago-based Wow Bao, you can already order your steamed buns via its app or an on-site kiosk. But with Eatsa's tech, you'll also be able to collect your meal from an LED-lit cubbyhole displaying your name. Text appearing on the front of the cubby, one amid a larger array, will tell you when your order is cooking and when you can double-tap on the box to collect your food.

It's a quick turnaround for Eatsa, which only a couple weeks ago announced the closing of five of its seven restaurants across the country. The company has now switched its focus to offering automated tech as a platform to other restaurants such as Wow Bao.

Who doesn't love dimsum right? I think this is the perfect application to show off their technology except for the fact that they will inevitably be replacing human workers with automated cubbies. Part of the fun of dimsum restaurants is trying to fight off the waitresses who ambitiously try to load up your table with more dimsum dishes!

A combination of artificial intelligence, personal screens, robotics and -- perhaps most crucially -- the willingness of hungry customers to skip human interaction is coming at the right time to make Eatsa's shift possible. It's part of a slow creep of technology that's transforming our experiences of dining out, and even dining in, thanks to advances in delivery tech.

Has it really come down to the fact that we simply don't have time to argue with this new policy. In a rush, who can serve us faster, a robot or a human being? Sadly I'd have to say it would probably be the robot!

The first Eatsa-equipped Wow Bao will open in Chicago on Dec. 1.

If you like fast steemed buns, nobody will be able to compete with the new Eatsa powered Wow Bao in terms of speedy delivery!

What do you guys think about this new self-serve model for restaurants? Is it worth a bit extra time and money to be served by a human being and have a more natural human experience? Is the restaurant industry going too far in regard to the integration of robots and technology? What happened to the old school diners?

Please leave thoughts and comments below!

Source:
Robot restaurants put a new spin on fast casual - CNET