Featured Image Credit: Miso Robotics
Topics: US News, World News, Artificial Intelligence, Food and Drink, Technology
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: US News, World News, Artificial Intelligence, Food and Drink, Technology
The 'world's first operating restaurant' where orders and food are taken care of by robots and AI is set to open in the US.
Perfect for those days where you can think of nothing worse than having to leave your house and interact with another human in order to get your burger and fries fix, a restaurant is coming to California where robots pretty much run the place.
Prepare to feel like you're in an episode of Black Mirror:
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Not to be mistaken for the Cali Xpress - an online recreational weed service - CaliExpress in Pasadena is set to open as the world's 'first operating restaurant where both ordering and every single cooking process are fully automated'.
Yup. When you step into CaliExpress, 'BurgerBot' and 'Flippy' - made by Miso Robotics - will be the chefs behind your burger and fries order - the robotic arm and sensor systems cooking your food at your request.
"Flippy is a ground-breaking, smart commercial kitchen robot that fries items from french fries to chicken nuggets, and works alongside humans to enhance quality and consistency, while creating substantial, measurable cost savings for restaurants," Miso Robotics' website states.
And the robots aren't the only high-tech part about the restaurant either, customers able to make orders via PopID stations.
Using one of the stations, you can set up a profile which will have a picture of you, loyalty and payment information stored, so you can ultimately, just order using your face.
Oh, and the restaurant certainly doesn't skimp out on its food offerings either, burger options include a Wagyu beef.
Miso Robotics says the robots taking the job of fast food workers will protect workers from the dangers which come from being around fast food fryers and hot oil, as per Forbes.
The robots will also cut costs for the restaurant in CaliExpress not having to pay workers, subsequently making it more viable to offer higher quality products such as Wagyu.
CEO of PopID and board member of Miso Robotics tells ABC 7: "The marriage of these various technologies to create the most autonomous restaurant in the world is the culmination of years of research, development, and investment in a family of revolutionary companies."
To anyone concerned the robots may take a leaf out of Karen's Diner's book and start turning against customers, fear not.
Vice President of Product Development at Miso Robotics, Alana Abbitt, reassures: "It's not a Terminator, it's not Transformers. It's a very friendly, helpful robot.
"There's nice robotics, there's Roombas, there's things in your house that have become much more a part of daily life. That's what we're trying to do."
There will also still be some humans on the premises if you do need a more human-hand with anything, Abbitt noting they'll be helping 'pack the food' and acting as a 'friendly face' to customers.
While CaliExpress was originally set to open this month, a spokesperson confirmed to Forbes the restaurant is 'opening soon'.