Robots are appearing in the food sector, from gourmet dining to McDonald's drive-thru, due to the manpower scarcity and rapid technological advancements.
Botbar, Brooklyn's first robot-run coffee cafe, opens in May. The shop's main employee, Adam, a two-armed robot, will collect client orders via touch-screen, precisely fulfill them, and work faster than humans.
Because Adam is beyond human mistake, this barista won't misspell your name, make your drink differently, or take a day off. However, McDonald's robots may still short-circuit.
Botbar's Adam can dance and reportedly handle 50 drink orders every hour, but food industry-AI needs more work.
Robots can operate without compensation, so restaurants can make money, but they have drawbacks.
Cafe X has been serving coffee with a robot arm for years, and while the company has been profitable, not everyone is happy.
The robot is amusing to watch, but Yelp reviews note that consumers have no method to report the robot's ingredient shortages. Unfortunately, some customers have received simply ice or milk instead of the ideal iced coffee.
Even if it's merely to keep the robots in line, the coffee shop will always require some humans. Most baristas shouldn't worry about being replaced for now.