Worried About Social Distancing? This New Dubai Cafe is Manned Entirely by Robots
That's right, no human interventions. It's staffed by a high-tech robot team.
10 February 2021
Clarice
Photo credit: @robo.cafe
We've also added a list of countries that feature bots in their restaurants, cafes and bars.
The new robot staff in Dubai Festival City are swift as they seamlessly make their way through seated diners. But don't worry, it's nothing like the robotic humans we've seen on Terminator or I, Robot, the cafe doesn't feature humanoid machines serving food.
Rather, RoboCafe's full service is operated by three large, German-manufactured robot arms.
Customers place an order using iPads, then these robotic arms will prepare and deliver orders straight to their tables within minutes, eliminating human interactions. How amazing is that?
During a time when people in the UAE are on high alert about health, safety, and physical distancing, we welcome the cafe's zero human intervention method.
As long as it's on their menu, the robot arms can prepare wraps, pastries, sandwiches, coffee, and other drinks without a single spill!
Photo credit: @robo.cafe
While Dubai is the first city in the world to open an AI robot-operated cafe, it's not the first time robots were introduced into the dining scene.
Here's a list of other countries where robots are working in the F&B industry...
South Korea
Long before the pandemic hit, bars and cafes in South Korea have been using robots to serve and entertain customers.
These robots create drinks such as cocktails, mojitos, coffee, and more... All at a fraction of the time it takes a human bartender or barista to do the same work. At the same time, the bots provide a consistency to their drinks that humans can't do.
However, for some customers in South Korea, they feel that the bots lack one critical quality that comes with being a bartender: you can't have a chat with them. For others, the robots are a comforting sight, specially now during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Photo credit: Reuters
India
Meanwhile in India... Chennai and Coimbatore launched robot restaurants during the summer of 2019.
Here's where your imagination can fly. Compared to the robotic arms in Dubai, these human-esque shaped robots can approach your table, and serve your food and drinks. The process is simple: place your orders on the screen and let the robots handle it.
Photo credit: Times of India
Japan
Less about service and leaning more towards entertainment, the Robot Restaurant in Japan can only be described as 'crazy'! The staff are human, but customers will be treated to an insane show that features giant fighting robots, robot dragons, robot ninjas, human performers, and really loud techno music.
But if you're looking for a calmer dining scene, there are other spots in Japan where you won't have to worry about a robot samurai swooping over your head to fight a robot monster.
A few Japanese sushi restaurants use robots as their concierge crew. These AI machines welcome customers and assign tables. Doesn’t it look cute?
China
A testament to the country's growing robotics industry, China's automated restaurants are a hit among visitors and residents.
Their latest robot restaurant in 2020 features 40 robots capable of serving and cooking over 200 dishes. Some of these robots, such as the burger machine, work 24 hours a day.
U.S.A
Want a hot cup of coffee served without human interaction? At the University of Texas campus, a coffee kiosk allows you to place your coffee order, then a behind-the-scenes robot barista will create your drink in a minute or two. You can collect your fresh cup of joe from the counter.
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