Assignment #3 by Raul Corral

Assignment #3 New Co-Workers:

With in the article “Mechanic master chef: Robots cook dumplings, noodles and wait tables at restaurant in China” by Alex Ward he talks about a robot restaurant in Harbin boasts 20 robot waiters & cooks. The robot’s height is about 4.3 to 5.25ft and can display more than 10 facial expressions, also say basic welcoming lines to diners, local media reported (Ward 1). The robo-waiters are placed on a suspended conveyor belt. Once the dish is prepared, a robot waiter, which runs along tracks on the floor, carries the food from kitchen to table (Ward 1). When the plate reaches the right table the mechanical arms lift it off and set it down. The robotic waiters can work continuously for five hours after a two-hour charge (Ward 1). The robots themselves are not allowed to operate by each other and are controlled by a staff of individuals in a computer room who manage the robot team actions. The developer/producer of these robo-waiters is primarily the restaurant industry within Japan and it is starting to spread to various other countries.

A typical waiter should have great communicative skills with lots of patients and be able to deal with large number of people for a lengthy period of time and a low minimum wage. Though many employers would hope that all of their waiting staff has these characteristics many waiters over time will become forget of the characteristics they must display while on the job and it might lead to the restaurant to receive a bad review because of its waiting staff.

One of the benefits of having robo-waiters is that they can never be wrong with customers’ orders because they are able to store multiple customer orders. Robo-waiters also eliminate the need of training new employees about the daily routines of a waiter, thus reducing the ability of an accident from occurring. Also, robo-waiters have help liberate dining places from the use of menus and menu covers and have a table-mounted touch-screen attached to their belly that allows them or the diners to tap out their food orders (Taylor 1, Rosencrance 1, Ward 1). There are robots that are outfitted with sensors, which allow customers to order food by merely pointing their fingers (Taylor 1, Rosencrance 1, Ward 1). This provides a much more green approach to the environment within restaurant as restaurant owners do not have to spend money printing out and buying menu sheets & covers. With the introduction of robo waiters in restaurant industry computations on billings are faultless, which lessens the customer’s waiting time for their check (Taylor 1, Rosencrance 1, Ward 1). Most of them are equipped with radio frequency identification tags that prevent them from delivering wrong food to the wrong table (Taylor 1, Rosencrance 1). Also Robo-waiters can’t whine & can be extremely patient with customers’ complaints and sarcasm.

Work Cited 

- Rosencrance, L. L. (2012). Robot Waiters: No Tipping, Please. (15 March 2012), 1. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/article/robot_waiters_no_tipping_please

- Taylor, J. (2010). Robot Waiters Will Serve Food Tirelessly and Demand No Tip. (23 December 2010), 1. http://www.asylum.com/2010/12/23/robot-waiters-will-serve-food-tirelessly-and-demand-no-tip/

- Ward, A. (2013). “Mechanic masterchef: Robots cook dumplings, noodles and wait tables at restaurant in China” . (13 January 2013), 1. Retrieved April 1, 2013, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2261767/Robot-Restaurant-Robots-cook-food-wait-tables-Harbin.html#ixzz2HukRA1l5